Lost Midnight
by Bandit-sama
Summary: Hijikata always kept his past a secret, but what happens when his past catches up with him in the form of a woman and he begins to lose everything? HijiXOC, UPDATE
1. Search

I don't own Peacemaker or any of it's characters, I only own Din Hinto.

Moving on, I'm here making a Peacemaker story which will follow the manga starting with the first one instead of the second PMK. Enjoy!

* * *

"Dammit."

Hijikata balled up the small piece of paper he had been writing on and threw it into the corner of his room. Nothing seemed perfect, every word he wrote on paper seemed to be wrong and he couldn't figure out why. Figuring it might be because the room was warm; he stood up, walked over to his sliding doors and opened them only to feel how hot it was outside as well.

_Damn. Today's just not my day._ He thought as he looked up towards the hot sun, which pounded down its heat onto the world beneath it.

He leaned against the sliding door and looked out towards the backyard. Everything seemed so peaceful even with the heat coming down onto the Earth. He could hear children off playing somewhere. Hearing their screams and yells reminded him of Tetsunosuke and then reminded him of a job he had for the small boy.

"Tetsunosuke!" Hijikata yelled without an answer.

"I thought you would forget," Souji said, causing Hijikata to look to his right to see Souji walking towards him from the pigpen. "You sent Tetsu-kun and Tatsu-kun out to get food remember?"

Hijikata sighed as he remembered. "It's hot today," he said in almost a whisper as he looked back out towards the backyard.

"I know." Souji giggled as he too looked out into the backyard. "Does this heat remind you of something?"

Hijikata didn't answer but instead kept looking up towards the sky. He sighed once more as a content feeling ran over him. "No. It's just a hot day."

Souji watched as Hijikata turned away from him and walked back into his room and sat down in his normal spot. Souji blinked, figuring that the man he always talked too was hiding something from him as always.

_Oh well._ Souji thought as he sat down on the small wooden ledge right outside of Hijikata's sliding door. _Might as well enjoy the day.

* * *

_

"Tatsu…" Tetsunosuke whined as he and his older brother walked through the market looking for food. "When are we gonna be done? It too hot…"

"We're almost done," Tatsunosuke answered as he continued to walk forwards even though his legs wanted to go back towards the Shinsengumi dojo. In both of his arms were bags of food he had collected while out shopping for the Shinsengumi, it wasn't odd for him to do this, he always did it back when him and Tetsunosuke were living on their own.

"What's left on the list?" Tetsunosuke asked as he too dragged his feet.

"Uh…" Tatsunosuke looked down onto the small piece of paper that had been telling them where to go and what to get for the last hour only to see that there was only one thing left, bread.

"Just bread Tetsu then we're done," Tatsunosuke answered. "The store should be around here somewhere."

Tatsunosuke looked around, hoping to find the specific store that had been marked down on the white piece of paper. As he looked he saw Sanosuke, Shinpachi, and Heisuke standing in front of a light brown store talking to a woman.

_Wonder what's they're doing here?_ Tatsunosuke thought as he tried to sneak by them so they wouldn't say anything to him for he wasn't in the mood for talking.

"Hey!" Tetsunosuke called, causing his elder brother to twitch. "Sanosuke-san! Shipachi-san! Heisuke-san!"

"What'da know," Sanosuke said in response as he turned around to the two Ichimura brothers. "We caught Tatsu-kun doing his chores."

"Hey Tatsu-kun why don't you come over here? We've got someone we want you to meet!" Shinpachi said causing Tetsunosuke to walk over towards the group. Tatsunosuke twitched and walked over to join up with his brother only notice a small flag hanging off of the store with the words, "Tarason Bakery" written on it.

_That looks familiar._ Tatsunosuke thought as he looked down onto the white piece of paper in his hands only to discover that it was the same store where he was instructed to buy bread from. _That's weird._

"So are you almost done shopping?" Heisuke asked as he looked over towards the older brother.

"Yeah, Tatsunosuke answered. "I've just got to get once more thing and then we're done."

"What's that?" Sanosuke asked.

"Bread," Tetsunosuke answered for his older brother. "We can't find the place to buy it though."

"Din-chan can take care of that for you," Shinpachi said with a grin. "Tatsu-kun, this is who we wanted you to meet; she's an old friend of ours, Din Hinto."

Tatsunosuke was pointed to the woman standing against the store. Her light blue hair was pulled back into a high ponytail tied back tightly with red ties, and a part of her hair fell over her right eye almost hiding the green color which stood out against the color of her left eye which was blue. A small scar stretched across her face, from the left to the right, and she was wearing a simple blue kimono.

"Hi I'm Din," she said as she stuck her right hand out to Tatsunosuke, allowing him to shake her hand.

"I'm Tatsunosuke, and that's Tetsunosuke, my little brother," Tatsunosuke explained as he shook Din's hand.

"Have…" Din began as she studied Tatsunosuke's features. "We met before? Your face looks awfully familiar."

"Not that I know of," he answered, knowing that he had never met someone like Din before. Someone whose characteristics would be the characteristics of someone he would remember

"Din-chan owns this bakery," Shinpachi explained, breaking Din and Tatsunosuke's conversation. "I don't know why but someone in the Shinsengumi wants bread from this place once in awhile. I wonder why though this bread isn't _that_ good."

"Hey." Din glared towards Shinpachi, causing him to put his hands up in defense.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding don't worry!" Shinpachi protested.

"Anyways," Din looked away from the red head and back towards Tatsunosuke, "what can I get you?"

"Uh…" Tatsunosuke looked down on the list and read what the fine writing said. "Mliwheat."

"Okay." Din walked away from the group and inside the store. She emerged a few minutes later with a long sigh. "Sorry Tatsunosuke-san but it looks like we're out right now. I'll have some later, I'll just stop by later and give it to you okay? You live at the Shinsengumi dojo right?"

"Yes." Tatsunosuke smiled.

"Are you a member?" Din asked only to head Sanosuke and his little trio giggle. "What?" She hissed.

"He's the bookkeeper," Sanosuke answered as he tried to cover his giggle, which made Tatsunosuke blush with embarrassment.

"I'm glad he's doing it," Din said, causing Tatsunosuke to look up at her and a new kind of blush to cross his face. "We all know if _you_ did it Japan would fall apart!"

"Hey!"

"You know it's the truth!" Heisuke laughed as he covered his mouth, trying to hide it.

"Anyway, what do you do?" Din asked as he looked towards Tetsunosuke and flicked his nose playfully. "You look to small to be a full member."

Tetsunosuke opened his mouth to answer Din's questions but his brother interjected with his own answer.

"He's a page." Tatsunosuke tugged gently on the younger Ichimura's arm, telling him to get ready to go. "Now come on Tetsu we'd better get going, Okita-san is expecting us back."

"Tatsu can't I stay here?" Tetsunosuke asked as he looked up at his brother.

"We're headin' back too Tetsu-kun," Sanosuke said as he looked down and saw that the small red head was falling asleep were he stood.

"Damn." Tetsunosuke rubbed his eyes with one of his balled up fists as a small yawn took over his mouth.

"Why are you so tired anyway?" Tatsunosuke asked as he bent down to Tetsunosuke's level. The nearby trio twitched as Tetsunosuke opened his mouth to answer, hoping that the small red head wouldn't give out the reason for why he was so tried.

"No reason," Tetsunosuke lied as he yawned once more.

Shinpachi leaned over towards Heisuke. "I guess he's not ready to hang with the big boys."

"Come on we'd better go," Sanosuke said as he looked at the group around him. "We don't want the demon vice commander to bite our heads off when he finds out that our break lasted a little longer then usual."

"Oh." Tatsunosuke reached down into his pocket, searching. His fingers found what he was looking for, he took it out, and handed it towards Din. "Here."

"I'll just put it on your tab for now," Din said with a small laugh as she pushed Tatsunosuke's hand back towards his body. "Don't worry about it right now."

"Okay…" Tatsunosuke blinked. "Thank you." He bowed.

"No big deal. I'll see you guys in two hours okay?" Din said as she turned away from the group and slipped into the store once more. "Tell Souji-kun I said hi too!"

"Will do!" Shinpachi answered with a small laugh.

* * *

The small group of men walked on back towards Shinsengumi dojo, talking amongst each other. Tatsunosuke wasn't talking among the others, he was more in his own world, looking ahead and planning what he had to do when he got home.

"So Tatsu-kun what do you think?" Shinpachi asked, pulling Tatsunosuke out of his train of thought.

"About what?" He sighed.

"Din-chan."

"You two would be pretty cute together!" Sanosuke added as he hit Tatsunosuke on the top of his head playfully. "Even though she is ten years your senior."

"That means…" Tetsunosuke thought out loud as he added up the numbers in his head. "That Hinto-san's thirty. She's old."

"Tetsu!" Tatsunosuke hit his brother on the head. "Don't say things like that, it's rude!"

"I don't think you two would work," Heisuke said, causing everyone to look over towards him. "No offence or anything but Din-chan's difficult, I don't know if you could handle her."

Tatsunosuke twitched, but figured that it wasn't worth auguring over. He wasn't going to debate over something that didn't have a meaning. He figured that he would only see Din when he went on grocery runs and that was it so there was no sense in arguing over whether they would get along or not.

"Anyway, you think Hijikata-sama's gonna freak when Din-chan comes over tonight?" Sanosuke asked as he looked towards his follow jokers.

"Why would he freak out?" Tetsunosuke asked as he looked up towards the taller man.

"Well," Shinpachi began, "whenever Hijikata-sama finds out about Din-chan coming over he finds a reason to leave. He's done it for the past year now, now that I think about it."

"I've got an idea," Sanosuke said as he brought his right hand up and cupped his chin with it. "Let's _not_ tell Hijikata-sama about this, just to see what happens if the two meet face to face."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Shinpachi interjected, somewhat worried about what would happen if Hijikata found out that they Din was coming and didn't warn him at all.

"What's the worst that can happen?" Heisuke added wanting to see what would happen also. "It's not like they're going to kill each other, Din-chan doesn't have any skills when it comes to wielding a sword."

"How do you know?" Shinpachi asked as he looked at Heisuke.

"Her wrists are way too small to hold a sword up against a man," Heisuke answered as he waved his right hand up and down.

"Let's get off of this subject." Sanosuke sighed as he moved his arms behind his head. "Let's think of the excuse we're gonna use when the demon vice commander finds out how long we were gone."

"Dammit." Shinpachi sighed. "I forgot about that."

* * *

The group walked back to the dojo, and Tatsunosuke parted from the group and walked over towards the kitchen where he gave Ayumu the things he had bought. She thanked him, and then went on with her cooking which would be that night's dinner. He then walked back to the bookkeeping room, and went back to organizing things just as if nothing had happened.

"Tatsu-kun?" Souji's voice called from behind the closed doors. "Tatsu-kun?"

"In here Okita-san!" Tatsunosuke answered. He turned around to see the sliding doors open, and Souji walk in with the usual smile on his face.

"I just wanted to make sure that you got back aright," Souji said sweetly. "Did you enjoy your day out?"

"Yeah," Tatsunosuke answered as he smiled back to Souji. "It was nice to stench my legs a bit. Oh yes, Hinto-san says hi."

Souji blinked for a minute, trying to figure out the face that went with the name. It popped into his head. "Oh you mean Din Hinto?"

"Yeah."

"Oh okay thank you." Souji began to step out of the room but he stopped, turned around, and looked at the bookkeeper. "I'll see you at dinner okay?"

"Okay." Tatsunosuke answered as he began to get back into the books lying down in front of him. Souji stepped out and gently closed the door behind him, leaving Tatsunosuke to deal with his work.

* * *

"Damn."

Sanosuke fell down onto the dojo floor as sweat fell down his body. He had been training for the past hour and a half as punishment for taking his extended break. Shinpachi had gotten the punishment as well but he didn't show any signs of being tired, and Heisuke's punishment was to wash dishes so he was simply just watching the two of them train from the corner of the room.

"Come on Sanosuke-kun!" Heisuke cheered from the corner of the room. "You can't be tried already!"

"Hey I'd like to see your ass out here!" Sanosuke yelled back as he tried to catch his breath.

"Excuse me?" Souji said as his head popped in. "I just thought I might come in here and give you some water."

Souji walked into the room with a small brown tray, which had three cups of water. He walked into the middle of the room and set them down so that everyone could get to them when and if they wanted water.

"Water!" Sanosuke yelled as he crawled over towards the tray, grabbed the cup and chugged the water down.

"Damn," Shinpachi said in surprise as he watched the tall man drink the water as if someone were going to steal it from him. He blinked a few times and then a thought came to him. "Hey Souji-kun how long have we been home?"

"Almost two hours," Souji answered as he looked towards the red head. "Why?"

Sanosuke took the cup away from his mouth and wiped it with the back of his hand. "Din-chan's comin' over to bring us bread."

Souji's facial expression changed from a simple smile to a look of concern. "Did you tell Hijikata yet?"

"No," Heisuke said as he joined the conversation. "We figured that we shouldn't this time around. Besides she's not going to be here _that _long. She's just gong to drop off the bread and leave knowing her."

Shinpachi looked towards the first unit captain. "You're not going to tell Hijikata-sama are you?"

"Nope," Souji answered as his smile returned. "I just want to see something that's all. Don't worry I won't tell Hijikata-sama anything."

Souji stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him once more. He looked down the hallway to make sure no one was there and giggled a bit to himself for he was forming a plan in his mind. He then straightened up his face and walked towards Hijikata's room, putting the first step of his plan in motion.

* * *

"Hijikata-sama!" Souji yelled before he walked into the vice commander's room knowing that it was best to give Hijikata a warning before he walked into his room.

"Come in," Hijikata grunted in answer.

Souji slid his door open only to see Kondo sitting in front of Hijikata with his normal smile on his face.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Souji said politely only to receive a small laugh from Kondo.

"Not at all Souji-kun!" Kondo said cheerfully. "What can we help you with?"

"I was hoping that Hijikata would accompany me on a small walk in about twenty minutes or so," Souji said gently as he looked at Hijikata. "So will you?"

"Fine." Hijikata grunted as his eyes glanced up towards the mauve haired boy. "Be at the entrance gates in twenty minutes."

"Thank you Hijikata-sama!" Souji said as he clapped his hands together. "I'll be waiting!"

The two older men watched as Souji walked out of the room, laughing to himself as usual. Once Souji had closed the door completely and walked away, Hijikata sighed and looked out of his open doors towards the backyard.

* * *

Night had fallen which mean the temperature had also. A warm summer wind could still be felt but everything else was cooler. Crickets chirped, and frogs crocked mixing in together creating a comforting and content feeling to be felt. This was the reason Hijikata left his doors open. Hijikata closed his eyes as he listened to everything for nothing was being said in the room between the men to overlap it and before he knew it, he was thinking of the past.

Sitting on a hill as the sun gently touched him, everything was perfect in that moment. He had everything he could want, and yet he had nothing of material value. He looked up towards the blue sky only to see white dandelions floating above his head. He blinked, confused, and moved his head so that he could look upwards and saw a young woman sitting there, picking another full dandelion.

"It's a nice night for a walk," Kondo said breaking the silence between the men and bringing Hijikata back to reality.

"I know…" Hijikata sighed as he looked away from the backyard and towards the man sitting in front of him.

Kondo took a deep breath of summer air in. "It's almost like that summer so many years ago. It even smells the same."

"And that's what I hate about it," Hijikata hissed. "Anyway, what is this about Choshu warriors being killed?"

"Oh that." Kondo straightened up a bit and got ready to talk. "It seems that select Choshu warriors are being killed. They have some kind of connection since every kill seems to have been planned but we haven't been able to figure out the connection yet."

"Are they blaming it on the Shinsengumi?"

"No." Kondo shook his head. "Susumu has found out from spying that it's some kind of ex-bounty hunter. They say that this bounty hunter carries a sword, so he's obviously a Ronin warrior because he also carries small throwing knifes around with him and no one teaches that."

"The men didn't have bounties? Not in the past at all?"

"No. It seems that they were just random hits but they have to have some kind of connection to each other because the warriors had been stripped of everything, money, papers, and such as if the bounty hunter were looking for something," Kondo explained.

"I'll look at the reports and see if I can find a connection but right now I don't care. I just don't want the Shinsengumi blamed for the killings."

Kondo sighed. "What I fear is that the bounty hunter might begin to attack the Shinsengumi if the Choshu don't have what he's looking for."

"We'll worry about when it happens," Hijikata answered as he looked back outside into the backyard.

_It's impossible to talk to you when you're like this._ Kondo thought as he looked at Hijikata. _But I guess you deserve to think about the past once in awhile._

The small room fell quiet once more as the two men looked outside into the back yard and began to think of things that had passed them over and over again. A part of them wanted to go back to the past but they knew that it was better if they stayed here in the present. All the thoughts seemed to be were simple memories that were there to remind them what they were fighting for, so that one day they might be able to relive those days or at least give them to someone else.

* * *

Souji stood outside of the Shinsengumi gates, waiting for Din to show up. He looked around, knowing what was about to happen wouldn't go well but he figured it was for the best. He sighed, wondering how much longer Din was going to take.

"Hey Souji-kun."

Souji looked to his left and saw Din walking down the street with a small basket in her arms. He smiled as she walked over to him and stood in front of him.

"Hi Din-chan," Souji said as he looked at the basket in her hands. "What's that?"

"The bread Tatsunosuke came to get earlier. We were out when he came over so I told him that I would bring it to him when I was done making a new batch," Din explained. "So here." She handed the basket out to Souji who took it gently.

"It's still warm." Souji giggled.

"Yeah." Din scratched the back of her head. "I figured that I'd bring it to you while it was still warm so you could have it for dinner."

She sighed and looked up towards the sky as a small warm breeze blew past the both of them, moving their hair towards the left. Souji took a small breath in and let it go, smelling the air around him.

"It's nice," Din whispered.

"So how are you?" Souji asked, ignoring Din's pervious comment.

"Same old, same old," she answered as he looked back down towards Souji. "You?"

"Fine." Souji smiled.

"Souji-kun!" Hijikata called as he walked out of the Shinsengumi dojo. "Souji-kun where are you?"

"Out here!" Souji called. He took a big breath in, knowing what was about to happen, there was no way around it; it was going to be bad.

Hijikata walked up towards the gates only to see Din standing there. They both looked towards each other, and froze. They blinked, wondering if they were really seeing what they though they were seeing, even though their minds didn't want to acknowledge what they were seeing as the real thing. Hijikata's heartbeat picked up as well as Din's but the first thoughts and feelings that came to them were their default one, detachment.

"Huh." Din laughed sarcastically as she folded her arms across her chest and glared towards Hijikata. "And here I thought you were dead."

* * *

R&R please! 


	2. Leave

I don't own Peacemaker or any of it's characters, I only own Din Hinto.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Crap!" Sanosuke dropped his bamboo sword as he remembered that he had to meet Din. "I forgot about Din-chan!"

"Damn we're late!" Shinpachi whined as he too dropped his bamboo sword and ran towards the sliding door that would allow them to exit. "Hurry up Heisuke-kun!"

"I'm coming!" Heisuke yelled back as he got up and ran towards the sliding door.

"Din-chan!" Sanosuke yelled as he and the others ran outside towards the front gate. "Sorry we're late!"

"Hold it!" Shinpachi whispered as he grabbed Sanosuke's hamaka and pulled him behind a small tree that covered him.

"What?" Sanosuke asked.

"Something's going on," Shinpachi explained. "Souji-kun and Hijikata-sama are both out here talking to Din-chan."

"You think he knows that we asked her to come?" Heisuke asked, as he looked towards the other two.

"Only one way to find out." Shinpachi moved away from the tree and carefully tiptoed over towards the wall nearest the gates so that he could hear everything that was going on. Sanosuke and Heisuke followed after Shinpachi had made it without being caught and the three of them moved closer so they could hear everything that was being said.

* * *

"And here I thought you were dead," Din said as she looked towards the demon vice commander. "But here you are alive and kicking."

Hijikata turned his face away and looked towards Souji, his eyes placing the blame on him. Souji just looked back at his commander and giggled a bit and then looked away as if he knew it was his fault for what was happening.

"And you can't even say anything to me." Din shook her head and looked away.

"What the hell do you want me to say?" Hijikata hissed back as he looked towards Din.

He saw everything he used to look at over and over again, her different colored eyes, and his red ties holding her hair back, the same red ties he once used to hold his own hair back while he was training. There was something new about her which caught Hijikata's attention, and that was the scar crossing her face.

"Say _something_ dammit!" Din yelled.

Nothing.

"I can't process this right now," Din hissed and turned away. She looked back towards Souji. "I'm going to go now, thank you for your business."

"But Din-chan—"

"Sorry Souji-kun." Din began to walk away when she felt someone grab her wrist. She looked back to see Hijikata looking back at her with a serious look on his face. "What?" She hissed.

"Come back into my room," Hijikata said, holding tightly to her wrist.

She could feel it, the seriousness in his grip and yet she could feel how uncertain he really was. His face told a different story, telling her that he knew what he was doing and things were going to turn out the way _he_ wanted them to go. _He_ knew what _he_ was doing because _he_ wouldn't let things go any other way.

"Why the hell should I?" Din hissed as she pulled her wrist away from Hijikata. "I should just walk away from you right now dammit! You're dead anyway!"

"Just come back with me," Hijikata demanded. "We shouldn't talk about it out here like this.

Din took a deep breath of air. "Why is it _embarrassing_ for you? That _you_ lied to _me_?"

"Please," Souji said, stepping into the conversation. "People around here can't see one of the Shinsengumi members being disrespected out in public."

"Dammit." Din looked away. "Hurry up and take me to your room."

Hijikata turned away from Din and walked back towards the Shinsengumi gates, and then back into the dojo. Everyone stood there, watching and not understanding save for Souji who walked back into the dojo with Hijikata and Din.

* * *

The trio waited until Hijikata, Din, and Souji had walked back into the dojo before they said anything for they feared being caught and getting into even more trouble. They waited in silence for a few moments to make sure that the three that had just gone in wouldn't come back out all of a sudden.

"What the hell just happened?" Sanosuke asked, as he looked at the other two, breaking the silence.

"I-I don't know…" Heisuke answered as he looked at Shinpachi who hadn't said a word since everything began. "Do you know anything?"

"No." Shinpachi shook his head. "But I've got a feeling that we've stumbled onto something that we weren't supposed to."

"Ya know what though?" Sanosuke asked, gaining both of the boy's attention. "I wanna know what's going on."

Shinpachi grinned. "I think we can find out what's going on."

"Should we go spy on them?" Heisuke asked.

"And risk our heads?" Sanosuke asked as he grabbed his throat, giving a demonstration of what he was talking about. "I say we just talk to Okita-san and see what he can tell us later."

"Yeah," Shinpachi agreed. "We've done enough to get under Hijikata-sama's skin today."

The trio settled everything at that and walked back into the dojo, not knowing what they had just heard and uncovered was a simple plan thought out by Souji. They were just as ignorant of it as Hijikata and Din.

* * *

Hijikata led Din through the Shinsengumi dojo getting stares along the way. Din ignored them as she followed Hijikata, trying to figure out everything that was going on. Hijikata on the other hand, was trying to figure out what exactly to tell Din but there was nothing he could tell her but the truth.

As they got closer and closer to Hijikata's room, Kondo stepped out and walked into the hallway only to run into the two who were walking down the hallway at the same time. The smile Kondo always had on his face crossed it once more as he saw Din, but faded as his eyes set on the look Hijikata had on his face.

"Din-chan?" Kondo asked as he looked towards the woman.

"Isami-kun?" Din asked as he looked at Kondo, almost as if she didn't recognize him. She shook her head as she stopped walking and gave a small smile even though Kondo could tell it was a lie.

"Isami-kun! Hi!" she said happily before she heard Hijikata give a small growl. She snorted. "Sorry Isami-kun the demon's calling me, I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Sure," Kondo said gently. He looked over towards Hijikata who was now standing in front of his open sliding door, looking back towards Din. He could see that Hijikata thought he would be able to fix what was going on or rather what had gone on but Kondo knew that this wouldn't be as easy as Hijikata thought.

Din broke away from Kondo and walked over to Hijikata who let her enter his room first. He looked back down the hallway, towards Kondo and towards all of the men who were wondering what was going on and looked away. He walked into his room and shut the door tightly behind himself, making sure that no one would be able to walk in on accident.

* * *

"Souji-kun!" Kondo called as he walked around the dojo. "Souji-kun where are you? Souji-kun!"

He knew that Souji was the last person to see Hijikata alone and he had to find out how Hijikata met up with Din again. He searched around until he walked into the backyard and found Souji feeding the pigs.

"Souji-kun!" Kondo called once more, causing the other man to look up with a smile on his face and Saizou in his arms.

"Yes Kondo-san?" Souji asked as he walked over towards him. "Is something wrong?"

"Din-chan's here," Kondo answered breathlessly. "How did they meet up?"

"Din-chan came by to deliver some bread from her store and when she came up, Hijikata-sama just happened to show up for our little walk," Souji answered with a small giggle. "It's a strange coincidence if you ask me, almost like it was supposed to happen."

"Souji-kun…" Kondo sighed as he shook his head back and forth. He knew what the unit captain had done, and how he had planned everything out. It couldn't have been a coincidence, those things just didn't happen and Kondo didn't believe in them. "Why Souji-kun?"

Souji sighed and turned his back to the older man. "Hijikata-sama has been daydreaming a lot lately hasn't he?"

"Yes."

"I just want him to see Din-chan before something happens either to him or her," Souji said, giving some kind of answer, no matter how indistinguishable it was. "It's been almost ten years since they've seen each other…"

"I know." Kondo looked away. "I just don't want them hurting each other."

Souji turned back around. "Me either. That's why I set this up."

* * *

Din watched as Hijikata walked across the room and shut the doors leading out into the backyard. He stood there, holding the lock in his hands with his head down for a while, not moving nor talking. Din took in a deep breath and blew it up, moving her hair slightly.

"Why didn't you just tell me that you were still alive?" Din asked as she crossed her arms. The melancholy tone in her voice caught his attention quickly.

"What made you think I had died?" he asked, still facing the closed doors.

"Your whole family died of Tuberculosis, and then you go to start the Shinsengumi with Isami? I figured if the Tuberculosis didn't get you then you would be killed and besides that, I hadn't heard anything from you for ten years what do you expect?!" she augured.

"Why didn't you just come here when we moved to Kyoto?" Hijikata asked as he turned around to face Din. "I would have been here."

"I didn't want too!" Din yelled. "You think I want to see all of these old faces and not see yours? Why didn't _you_ come to see _me_? You knew my families store and everything! Hell the Shinsengumi gets bread from my store all of the time! You'd think you would come at least once and see me!"

"Damn." Hijikata hissed. He couldn't have gone to the bread store ever because he knew if he did he _would_ see her and he didn't want too. There was a reason why he did everything and never went to see her but he couldn't tell her, hell he could barely admit to the reason himself. He knew that if he saw her, and spoke to her he would fall back in love with her, just like he did ten years ago and there wasn't any room for him to fall in love.

"We're not getting anywhere Hijikata!" Din yelled as her arms fell down by her sides in small fists.

"Where the hell would you want this to go?" Hijikata hissed as he glared back towards Din.

"I want to know why!" Din answered. "Why didn't you say anything to me when the Shinsengumi moved? Why dammit? You moved to Kyoto where I've been living for years now! "

Hijikata couldn't answer even though he couldn't feel the words sitting on the edge of his tongue, dying to be said. He had been holding back this reason for ten years, not speaking about it to anyone but when he opened his mouth, his default emotion showed once more.

"You would be a weakness."

"A weakness?" Din raised an eyebrow as she looked towards the demon. She covered her mouth, and Hijikata thought that she was going to cry but instead she laughed. She snickered a bit but it soon changed to an out loud laugh. "Weakness!" She said through her laugh.

Hijikata hissed, and rolled his eyes, causing Din's laugh to disappear as she looked over towards him with a small smile on her face.

"Oh you're serious," Din said as she leaned back on the wall behind her.

This was an issue Hijikata and Din always had in their relationship may it be romantic or not. They could both be cold and sarcastic towards one another in an argument because it was their way of defending themselves from getting hurt which they knew the other could do if they tried hard enough.

"But anyway," Din continued, "you thought I would be a weakness. To who you or the Shinsengumi? You knew that I wouldn't be able to join so you must be saying that I would be a weakness for you."

"You would have," Hijikata answered. "Not only would I have to deal with men who couldn't handle themselves but I would have to give you special attention that I wouldn't and don't have."

"I didn't want special attention!" Din yelled. "I just wanted to have you dammit!"

Hijikata shook his head and looked away. "Why are you bothering with this?" He asked, dismissing their pervious conversation topic.

"Huh." Din crossed her arms. "If you weren't dead, I wanted to find out your reason for not letting me fall in love."

"What?" Hijikata asked in shock.

"I couldn't fall in love after you left," Din answered as she sighed. "I thought you had died and I figured I would get over you and I thought I _had_ until the day I got engaged."

_Engaged._ Hijikata thought. For some reason it hurt him somewhere to find out that Din had been with another man, and that the idea that she was in love with the other man pushed her enough to say yes to marrying him. It was his own fault for not taking her when he had the chance but he had never thought of another man taking her.

"I was going to…" Din took a deep breath in and got ready to explain, "sleep with him the night he proposed but I couldn't. His touches were just so full of love and commitment and mine weren't. That night was the first night in years that I thought about you."

"Did you marry?"

"No." Din shook her head. "I broke the engagement that night and he understood. He and I are close though, he told me that he would wait until I was ready and I thought I would never be ready because I would never be over you due to the fact that you were _dead_ but here you are alive."

"You can't blame this on me and your assumptions." Hijikata turned away and rubbed temples. It was in this moment that Din reached down into her kimono top and pulled something out and gently tossed it on top of Hijikata's desk, landing on white papers without making a noise.

"You should have told me that you were alive or something!" Din argued, getting back into the fight. "Not a letter or a single visit or anything!"

"I'm not hard to find." Hijikata snapped back.

"I guess you're right then." Din pushed herself off of the wall and walked over towards the sliding door that would allow her entrance to the main hallway. "I think I've gotten what I wanted so I'm leaving now."

"Fine." Hijikata sighed.

"I'll be gone for a while but I'll come right back for you…" Din began, causing Hijikata to look back up at her only to see her back towards him. "I'm not going to leave you. Just wait for me, and I'll be back. I love you."

Those words. He knew them, he had memorized them when he was younger, hoping that those words would keep Din waiting for him and they had but not in the way he wanted them too. He turned away, gripping his fists and said the only thing he could.

"Hurry up and get out."

Din opened the door and stepped out, closing the door tightly behind herself. She didn't bother to look at the men who were looking at her in wonder but instead she walked down the hallway, towards the entrance.

"Vindictive wrench," Hijikata hissed as he slammed his fist into the nearby wall.

* * *

Din walked down the hallway, thinking to herself about everything that had just happened. It wasn't until she slammed into another person did she come back into reality did she see that she had slammed into Tatsunosuke, causing all of his paperwork to scatter on the floor.

"Sorry!" Din said as she bent down and began to pick up the papers.

"It's alright I wasn't watching where I was going either," Tatsunosuke confessed as he too picked up the papers.

Din gathered a small pile of papers and looked towards the person she had bumped into so that she could hand them over to him only to see that it was Tatsunosuke. She smiled gently and stood up with him.

"Sorry Tatsunosuke," Din apologized once more as she bowed down.

"It's alright Hinto-san," Tatsunosuke said with a slight laugh as he tried to balance all of his papers.

"Please call me Din-chan! You make me sound so old!" Din laughed as she placed the few papers she had onto Tatsunosuke's pile of papers. "But hey Tatsunosuke-san?"

"Tatsu-kun please." He smiled.

"Okay Tatsu-kun, do you happen to know where Isami Kondo is? I would like to speak to him."

"Uh." Tatsunosuke looked to the side, trying to remember where he had seen Kondo last. He remembered walking by the backyard and seeing him there. "He's in the backyard I think. Do you need me to show you where it is?"

"Nah." Din moved her right hand back and forth. "This place looks like it's built like the old place so I should know my way around. Thanks though."

"No problem. I guess I'll see you around then." Tatsunosuke began to walk away as Din smiled, saying good-bye to him in her own way.

_That kid looks so damn familiar._ Din thought as she walked through the hallways and towards the spot where she had seen the backyard before_. I can't figure it out…but his face looks so much like Ichimura-san's. Could he be Ichimura-san's son? No…I thought the both of the small ones died with their parents. It couldn't be.

* * *

_

Din walked around until she found a small door, which she stepped out of and found herself in the backyard. She walked past the small pigpen, hearing the small animals inside snort and run around. She stepped around, only to find Souji standing against the brown pigpen, and holding one in his arms.

"Souji-kun," Din stepped over towards him, "do you know where Isami-kun is? I need to talk to him."

"You just missed him," Souji answered with a smile. "He left to go and see if Hijikata-sama was okay, and talk to the both of you."

"Crap." Din walked over to the pigpen and stood beside Souji. She leaned against the brown structure and slid down, holding herself up with her knees.

It grew quiet between the two as they both looked towards the small pond sitting in the middle of the backyard. They could hear the frogs in it, and they could hear the crickets nearby chirping over and over.

Souji giggled. "I heard some of what you were talking about."

"You did?" Din answered with a slight laugh. She was happy that he broke the silence between them, she didn't like that awkward silence between them because silence, to her, often met the other person was thinking of something to say against her.

"I didn't know…that you felt that way." Souji sighed as he too slid down the pigpen, kneeling beside Din. "If I knew…I would have done something earlier."

"Did something?" Din repeated as she looked towards the mauve haired boy. "Did you do this on purpose?"

"I think I had too." Souji looked upwards towards the night sky. "Summer is just beginning again, and everything feels just like that summer ten years ago and I know Hijikata-sama feels the same way. I just thought that you should be here now."

"Oh." Din sighed loudly.

"So," Souji said happily, "I heard that you got engaged while we were gone."

"I did." Din reached back with her right hand and found a small brown sack she kept tied to her waist. She opened it and pulled out a small sliver ring. "This is it."

Souji held his hand out flat, and Din placed the small ring in his hand. He closed it, and brought up to his face so he could look at it. It was plain; nothing really special about it and the only thing on it were the initials RSxDH.

"It's nice." Souji handed it back towards Din and she slipped it back into her small, brown sack.

"I know." Din stood up and brushed the dirt off of her body. "I'd better go before Hijikata finds me out here and bites my head off. I'll talk to Isami-kun later. I'll see you around okay Souji-kun?"

"Okay." Souji smiled. "It was nice seeing you again."

"You too." Din smiled back. "Come by my place anytime."

Souji watched Din walk away with a smile on his face but as soon as she was out of sight his smile faded and his face became emotionless. He looked down at Saizou who looked back up at him and snorted.

_She used to call him_ Toshi-chan. Souji thought. _This is going to be harder then I thought.

* * *

_

Tetsunosuke walked by Hijikata's room, going towards the kitchen and hoping to get something to eat before dinner was served. He walked along the wooden floors, trying to be quiet so that the demon wouldn't hear him and demand him to do another chore.

"All she ever does is cause trouble!" Hijikata yelled.

The hair on the back of Tetsunosuke's neck stood up just as it always did when his master yelled. He shuttered.

_Damn he's got a scary yelling voice._ Tetsunosuke thought. _I wonder what they're talking about. The only she in this place is Ayumu-san, is she in trouble?_

The curiousness in Tetsunosuke kicked in. He wanted, no rather needed to know now. He looked around to see that he was in the hallway alone.

_I'll have something to tell the others if I listen!_ Tetsunosuke thought._ Then I can rub it in the trio's faces that I know something they don't!_ The red head grinned.

He walked towards the sliding door that belonged to his master and saw that it had been left open just a bit, most likely because of Kondo's carelessness in his hurry to talk to Hijikata and Din. Tetsunosuke looked in and saw Hijikata sitting down in front of Kondo with his pipe burning away, causing white clouds to float around the room.

_Damn that smells!_ Tetsunosuke thought as he covered his nose. He shook his head, figuring that he should get back to the matter at hand, and began to listen.

"All that vindictive wrench ever does is cause problems for me," Hijikata hissed as he took a long puff off of his pipe.

"Well," Kondo began as he sighed. "A part of me thinks that you've brought this on yourself for always avoiding her whenever she came over to deliver something before."

"You know why I did," Hijikata hissed in his own defense. "I can't have her coming around here all the time and falling back in love with me."

_Love?_ Tetsunosuke blinked.

"I think she had a right to see you, and to know the truth," Kondo said only to receive a glare from the demon sitting in front of him.

Hijikata grunted. "Whose side are you on?"

"No one's Toshi-kun," Kondo answered. "I'm just happy now that she can move on and possibly marry the man she was engaged to before."

Hijikata twitched and raised an eyebrow. "How did you know she was engaged?"

Kondo laughed a bit and scratched the back of his head, knowing that he had been caught. "Souji-kun and I heard some of what you were talking about." Kondo stopped laughing, and became serious once more. "But how do you feel about that?"

"Huh." Hijikata looked away. "She can do whatever the hell she wants too; I don't have any attachment to her anymore. All the feelings I had for her are in the past now."

"She kept the red ties you gave her."

"I don't care," Hijikata hissed. "Everything that happened between us in the past is gone and I hoped never to see her again and I still do."

"Toshi-kun." Kondo sighed.

"I'm going out for a walk." Hijikata stood up and opened the sliding doors, which lead out to the backyard. "Don't tell anyone I'm gone. I'll be back for dinner."

Kondo smiled. The present seemed to overlap the past as Kondo watched Hijikata walk out of the back door so he wouldn't be seen by anyone else. Hijikata used to do the same thing when the Shinsengumi was growing ten years ago, back when he would leave so that he could go and see Din.

"Right." Kondo nodded his head.

As Hijikata sunk out of his room and began to walk into the backyard, leaving Kondo behind, and giving the signal to Tetsunosuke to stand up. He looked around to make sure no one had caught him in the act. No one was around. He walked away just as quietly as he had before and made it into the kitchen where he sighed.

_Now to go and tell the others!_ Tetsunosuke thought as he began to run towards the main sleeping room where the trio often stayed, knowing that no one would convict him of any wrong doing now.

* * *

R&R please! 


	3. Secret

I don't own Peacemaker or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna Hinto.

Thanks for all of the reviews! I love them all! And OOOOOOOOO means that there is a flashback happening and when you see it again, the flashback is over. Enjoy!

* * *

"Hey!" Tetsunosuke yelled happily as he ran into the main sleeping quarters looking for the trio. He looked around and found them sitting in the corner of the room, talking and trying to figure out what happened between Din and Hijikata.

"You guys!" Tetsunosuke ran over to the trio who kept talking. "Guess what?"

"What is it Tetsu?" Heisuke asked as he tore himself away from the conversation he was having with the other two.

"I know what's up between Hinto-san and Hijikata-sama!" he answered proudly.

"Sh!" Shinpachi grabbed the small red head and hid his head. He looked around the room to make sure that no one else had heard Tetsunosuke say anything. "You have to keep it down! If Hijikata-sama found out that you knew he would kill you!"

"How do you know?" Tetsunosuke asked as he broke away from Shinpachi's hold and looked up at him.

"Well if Hijikata-sama didn't tell anyone before then what makes you think that he wants us to know now?" Heisuke explained.

"But hey what is it?" Sanosuke asked as he bent inwards, and the others following, forming a small circle so no one else could hear.

"What do I get if I tell you?" Tetsunosuke asked with a grin. He might as well get something out of everything right?

Shinpachi snarled. "I'll give you my dumpling at dinner."

"No enough." Tetsunosuke crossed his arms.

"Me too." Heisuke offered.

The three looked towards Sanosuke, and waited for his offering. He just looked at them in wonder.

"What?" Sanosuke asked.

"Give him your damn dumpling!" Shinpachi yelled.

Sanosuke crossed his arms. "Fine you can have mine too."

"There will you tell us now?" Shinpachi asked as he looked towards Tetsunosuke.

"Okay." Tetsunosuke grinned. Mission accomplished. He thought, as he got ready to tell his story.

"I heard that Hijikata-sama and Hinto-san used to be in love," Tetsunosuke said, spilling everything.

The trio was quiet for a few moments, waiting to see if the red head was going to say anything more to further explained but he didn't. Sanosuke puffed up his cheeks and before he could stop himself, he began to laugh, telling the others that they could laugh and before Tetsunosuke knew it, they were all laughing.

Tetsunosuke puffed his cheeks, feeling stupid. "What's so funny?"

"Din-chan and the demon vice commander!" Shinpachi whispered while trying not to laugh.

"Are you sure you heard right Tetsu-kun?" Heisuke asked through a laugh.

"Yeah!" Tetsunosuke yelled in his defense.

"You _had_ to hear wrong!" Sanosuke said as his laugh faded. "We've known Din-chan for thirteen years! There's no way she was ever in love with him."

"Hijikata-sama said, 'everything that happened between us in the past is gone and I hoped never to see her again and I still do,'" Tetsunosuke said as he crossed his arms.

"Wait a minute…" Shinpachi said as he began to put everything together. "That would explain why Hijikata-sama is always leaving whenever he hears that Din-chan is coming over."

"_Why is it embarrassing for you? That you lied to me?" _

"_I should just walk away from you right now dammit! You're dead anyway!"_

The lines that Din had yelled when she had met up Hijikata again ran through each of their heads, almost as if things were starting to make sense. They blinked, putting everything together in silence as Tetsunosuke stood there, wondering if they believed him or not.

"I know they knew each other when we were younger…" Shinpachi said as he scratched his chin. "But I don't remember them ever being in love."

"But then why would Hijikata-sama say that he never wanted to see Din-chan again?" Sanosuke asked as he too scratched his chin.

Tetsunosuke thought of something Hijikata had said to prove his point even more. "Hijikata-sama said, 'She can do whatever the hell she wants too, I don't have any attachment to her anymore. All the feelings I had for her are in the past now.' So he had to have _some kind_ of attachment to her."

"Maybe they were…" Heisuke said giving into the statement Tetsunosuke had made earlier. "Hijikata-sama I can except not to tell anyone but I would think that Din-chan would have told us."

"What happened anyway?" Tetsunosuke asked. "Why did they stop talking to each other?"

"We really don't know," Shinpachi answered. "All I remember was that Din-chan's adoptive parents moved her here to Kyoto when she turned nineteen to run the bakery and we all got separated from her. I remember her being really upset about it because she said we were her only real friends and on top of that she was upset because her sister had gotten adopted by another family."

"That's right…," Heisuke said as he remembered everything. "We promised that we would keep an eye out for her sister and see if we could ever find her."

"Setsuna Hinto…," Sanosuke said gently. "Damn…I haven't thought about that name for a while now."

"Anyway…" Shinpachi sighed. "I don't understand why Din-chan never told us."

"Maybe Hijikata-sama told her not too," Tetsunosuke said.

"It makes sense." Heisuke looked up as if he were thinking. "Hijikata-sama doesn't want anyone to see him as weak and maybe he thought if people knew, they would think that he was weak."

"Or he didn't want her to get hurt," Sanosuke added.

"This is so weird." Shinpachi pointed out. "I thought I knew almost everything about Din-chan and yet I was missing so much. Just thinking that those two might have been in love is just too weird."

"Oh yeah!" Tetsunosuke straightened up as he remembered something else. "Din-san is engaged!"

"WHAT!?" the trio yelled, causing the few men in the room with them to look at them oddly.

"That's it!" Shinpachi yelled as he stood up and pointed his index finger upwards. "Tomorrow we march straight down to that bread shop and demand to know what's going on!"

"The bread shop is closed tomorrow, it's Sunday," Sanosuke said causing Shinpachi to twitch and his hand to fall over.

Shinpachi took a deep breath and pointed his finger back up. "The Monday I'll do it!"

"And I'm coming!" Heisuke announced as he stood up next to the red head and grinned.

"Me too!" Sanosuke yelled.

Tetsunosuke stood there, embarrassed by the men standing in front of him. He watched as they cheered on and turned around, leaving the room without being noticed. The embarrassment was too much and besides that, he had gotten what he wanted so he was happy but a small part of him wanted to know what was going on.

_I'll find out!_ Tetsunosuke thought as he walked down the hallway. _I'll figure out everything before everyone else!

* * *

_

Hijikata had been out walking around town for an hour now and he still couldn't clear all of the thoughts running though his head out. All the emotions he had before were still inside of him, guilt, and anger mostly. He couldn't think of anything to calm him down or distract him and it was becoming rather annoying.

_Why is this bothering me so much?_ Hijikata thought as he walked along the street. _I thought I was over this years ago. Dammit._

Hijikata sighed as he looked around the streets, seeing people walk around, some hurrying home for dinner while he heard the sounds of people cooking and banging pots nearby.

_I should go back._

Hijikata found a turn in the street which would take him back to the Shinsengumi dojo and he began to take it when he heard a loud bang noise, and then a man holding out a sword darted out in front of him from one of the side houses.

"Dammit," Hijikata hissed as he placed his hand on his sword's handle, getting ready to draw it out of the situation called for it.

The swordsman looked towards Hijikata and his eyes grew wide. He looked around, looking for a place to run to when his body was forced to the wall on the other side of the street, and he began to bleed.

Hijikata studied the man who was now pinned against the wall only to notice that he was a Chousu member. Hijikata began to walk towards him, ready to question him when he felt something breeze past his ear and the man pinned to the wall screamed. Hijikata looked to see what had happened only to see a knife buried in the other man's neck.

"Dammit," Hijikata cursed for he couldn't question a dead man.

"You're a bit too late," a muffled voice said from behind him. He quickly turned around to see a man standing there, wearing a large ninja outfit. His shoulders were large, out of proportion with the rest of his short body. His face was hidden by white bandages up to his left blue eye, and his other eye was hidden by a piece of cloth that covered the right side of his face entirely.

"You," Hijikata began, "you're the bounty hunter that's been killing around lately."

"I don't see why it matters to you, Shinsengumi trash," he hissed as he walked over to the dead man and began to search through his shirt, looking for something. "He's a Choshu, why should you care?"

The bounty hunter's back straightened up as he felt a sharp prick against the middle of his back. He sighed and took his hands out of the dead man's shirt.

"Do we have a problem?" he asked sarcastically.

"Why are you doing this?" Hijikata asked, gently pushing the tip of his sword into the bounty hunter's back.

"Huh." The bounty hunter reached forward and took his knife out of the dead warrior's neck, then quickly turned around to face Hijikata, the tip of his sword pressing against his stomach. "I'm looking for something."

"I can't let you go."

The bounty hunter laughed a bit, and closed his left eye, almost as if he were smiling under the bandages. "And why is that?"

"You might attack the Shinsengumi," Hijikata answered, pressing his sword in a bit more to prove his point.

"Demon vice commander you have my word," the bounty hunter answered gently. "I would never attack the Shinsengumi."

Hijikata drew his sword back, making the bounty hunter think that he really was going to believe him but Hijikata quickly moved forward, pressing his sword against the other man's neck, almost ripping the cloth around the area and slamming the other man against the wall next to the dead Choshu warrior.

"You except me to believe the word of a man who has no honor?" Hijikata hissed.

"No, I would except you to believe the word of a man who could kill you were you stand." The bounty hunter answered as he pressed the tip of the knife that had ended the other man's life against Hijikata's stomach.

Hijikata and the other man stood there, not moving. Tension was growing between them as they both wondered who was going to move, or who was going to be the first to say something but nothing happened. They wondered who was going to be the one to slip up, and move only to make the other move but no one moved.

"I'm sorry," the bounty hunter said. "I really don't have time for this."

The bounty hunter reveled that he had a bit more room to move his head back then Hijikata had thought before, and moved his neck back. His hand quickly dropped the knife near Hijikata's stomach and replaced it with his fist. He punched Hijikata in the stomach, and Hijikata drew back his sword, allowing the other man to slip underneath him and run to the right.

"I will be keeping my promise," the bounty hunter said as he looked back towards Hijikata.

Hijikata looked over towards the man and saw him standing there. His stomach felt like it was on fire and he could barely stand. Hunched over he watched as the man raised his right index finger to where his mouth would be.

"Keep our little promise a secret okay?" He giggled.

Hijikata stepped forward to attack the bounty hunter but the pain overtook him. He tried to ignore it and raise his sword once more but the other man hopped away onto the roof, and then into the darkness.

"Dammit," Hijikata hissed. "He got away."

* * *

"Got away?" Kondo asked as he looked at Hijikata.

The demon vice commander made it home without another hitch, save for damage to his pride. He was now sitting in his room, two hours later, with a bowl of rice sitting in front of him, as well as Kondo who had been waiting for him to return.

"Bastard," Hijikata hissed.

"Are you okay though?" Kondo asked. "You don't have any wounds or anything do you?"

Walking was heard outside of the door. Both of the men turned and looked towards the door, waiting to see if the person was going to come in or not.

"Hijikata-sama," Susumu's voice called.

"Enter and report," Hijikata answered, hoping that Susumu would have information for him.

Susumu opened the sliding door, and walked in. He sat down on Hijikata's right side and bowed down, handing out the knife that had been pressed against the vice commander's stomach two hours ago.

"I couldn't find him sir," Susumu reported. "There weren't any sings of him anywhere."

"Damn." Hijikata gripped his fists together. "And the knife?"

"I'm sorry sir; I've never seen a knife of this make before. The edges are that that I've never seen before. Everything about it is different," Susumu answered.

"You are dismissed."

"Yes sir." Susumu stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door tightly behind himself. Hijikata quickly turned his head away from the now closed door and growled.

"That was the last lead I had," he hissed.

"We'll find him Toshi-kun, don't worry about it. For now, why don't you eat your dinner? I had Ayumu-san keep it warm for you," Kondo said gently, trying to make Hijikata feel a bit better.

"I'm not hungry."

"Toshi-kun—"

"I'll eat later," Hijikata interrupted.

Kondo sighed. He stood up and brushed himself off. "Sannan came by today, he's waiting for me in the adjacent room."

"This day just keeps getting better." Hijikata growled as he reached over to a small desk and grabbed his pipe. He was right, everything had been fine until he went out to meet Din, they talked or rather augured, then while he was out on his walk he ran into that bounty hunter, and now _he_ was here, Yamanami.

"I'm sorry Toshi but I have to go and see Sannan." Kondo walked towards the door, slid it open and walked out, closing it gently. Hijikata lit his pipe, took in a deep puff, and then slowly released it.

_I hate the end of summer._ Hijikata thought as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He opened them once more only to have them get caught on a small object sitting on his desk, the object Din had placed on his desk during their argument. He reached over to it, grabbed it, and studied it.

It was a small golden ring. He recognized it instantly, and his hand dropped down onto the ground in surprise. He couldn't believe it. He picked it back up to look at it only to further confirm that it was the ring he thought it was. The ring he had given to Din.

"Shit." He rubbed his temples as the memory came back to him.

00000000000000000000000

The wind blew gently over a hill covered with grass as Hijikata and Din stood there, Din with her head in Hijikata's chest with his arms wrapped around her tightly. She pulled away from him and looked up into his eyes.

"I'll be gone for a while but I'll come right back for you…," Hijikata said gently as he placed his hands on the sides of her head and his mouth near hers. "I'm not going to leave you. Just wait for me, and I'll be back. I love you."

"I don't want you to leave," she whispered as she rubbed her face next to his. "I want you to stay…"

"I'm going to come back to you," he said gently once more.

"But I'm leaving…Going to Kyoto." Tears fell down Din's face as Hijikata's thumb ran over them and wiped them away but couldn't catch all of them. She gripped his kimono in her hands as she cried, and the tears the escaped Hijikata fell onto her hands.

"I'll find you," Hijikata pushed on. "I _will_."

Din didn't say anything in response, instead she slammed herself back into Hijikata, causing him to lose his balance and fall over. He landed on his back with her on top of him, crying into his chest. He rolled over so that he was on top, between her legs, and in a position so that he wouldn't hurt her.

"Din-chan," he whispered as he kissed her. "I've got something for you…"

"What?" She sniffled.

Hijikata reached down into his kimono top and pulled out a small bundle that looked like a rag. He searched through it, as Din watched, and he pulled out a small golden ring. He brought it up to her face.

"You wanted me to marry you a few nights ago," he whispered.

"Toshi-chan…," Din said breathlessly as her eyes widened. "What?"

"Wear this until I find you…that way people will think you're already married so your new parents won't push you to marry someone else. I'll find you one day and marry you."

"Toshi-chan." Din cried as she buried her head in Hijikata's neck and wrapped her arms around him.

He grabbed the ring in his fist and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close as he could get her, as close as their bodies would allow them to be but he wanted more. He wanted to be closer, he wanted to feel everything about her but he couldn't get any closer to her. He wanted to be one with her but he knew that something like that was impossible.

He sat there, listening to her cry, as he told himself over and over again that he would find her and marry her. Everything would be fine and their futures would be tied together no matter what as long as he kept his promise to her.

00000000000000000000000000000

But he hadn't.

In fact, in all of these years he had forgotten about it.

_And now she's giving it back to me._ Hijikata thought as he looked at the ring once more.

He figured that she was going to replace his old ring with a new one, and marry the man who was waiting for her to get over him. It bothered him somewhere, but not enough to get up and do something because he knew that he was doing the right thing, not only for her but also for him. There was one question, however, that seemed interesting to him.

_I wonder how long she wore this before she finally took it off?_ He wondered let his hand fall to the floor once more.

* * *

R&R please! 


	4. Finding

I don't own Peacemaker or any of it's characters, I only own Din Hinto.

Enjoy!

* * *

One simple day had passed since the day Din saw Hijikata once more, and everything seemed as if it had returned to normal in the short time. In fact, it seemed as if nothing had happened at all with Din, the only thing talked about which happened on that day was when Hijikata ran into the bounty hunter. Other then that, the day seemed to be pretty normal to anyone outside of Hijikata, Souji, Kondo, the trio, and Tetsunosuke. And maybe it because only those seven people knew of it, that it seemed to disappear so quickly.

It was now Monday, meaning that it was time for the trio's trip to Tarason Bakery in order to see Din and find out exactly what had been going on, and what was now going on. They set off around three or so in the afternoon, right after Souji had returned from running a small errand of his own.

"Let's find out what this is all about," Shinpachi said as he walked towards the bakery.

The three of them walked inside and found Din sitting at a small counter, looking outside of a window, towards the sky. It looked as if she were waiting for someone to come to her, the way her eyes were, looking out longingly and patiently.

"Din-chan!" Sanosuke called as he walked in and over to her. She perked up after hearing her name being called and smiled.

"Hey," she replied.

"What's this I hear about our Din-chan being engaged?" Heisuke asked as he leaned against the counter.

Din blushed. "You found out?"

"Who's the unlucky guy?" Shinpachi teased as he hit Din on her head. "And where is he?"

"Oh." Din coughed a bit. "He's out there somewhere." Din looked out towards the window once more, just as she had been when the trio arrived.

"So does he actually exist or not?" Heisuke asked with a laugh, even though a part of him was really asking. To him, it looked as if Din might have just lied to Hijikata about being engaged to get under his skin.

"Yes." Din glared towards Heisuke. "I wouldn't lie about something _that_ important."

"Not even to get back at an old flame?" Sanosuke asked as he leaned in towards Din, hoping to cause her to crack and spill everything.

"Okay." Din stood up, slamming her fists down onto the counter below her. "How the hell did you three find out everything? Did Hijikata spill to you or something?"

"But is it true?" Shinpachi asked, dropping the funny act and now becoming serious. "Is it true that you and Hijikata-sama were in love ten years ago?"

Din crossed her arms. "I don't get where you got your information from but I'd rather have you hear it from me then someone else." She sighed. "Yes, Hijikata and I were in love ten years ago, but everything's gone now."

"And you never told us!?" Shinpachi yelled. "How could you?"

"He told me not too!" Din argued. "He wanted to keep it a secret so I wouldn't get hurt! But…it backfired."

The group was quiet for a few minutes, taking in everything that had just been told. They searched their minds, trying to think of something, anything that would prove both Tetsunosuke and Din's stories but they couldn't. It just seemed hard to picture the two together when all three of them were standing there ten years ago; not knowing while this went on.

"Did you…ya know…" Heisuke asked as he looked at Din. "Lie down together?"

Redness passed over Din's face once more. She shook her head quickly and then hissed towards the trio. "Personally, I don't think it's any of your business."

"You did didn't you?" Sanosuke answered for her as he crinkled up his nose in disgust. "Din-chan! You told us you were going to save it for marriage!"

"Oh shut up," Din hissed. "What happened back then was and _is_ none of your business."

"Excuse me?" a man asked as he walked into the store. "Could I get some help?"

"Oh yes sir." Din hopped up and walked around the counter. She stopped walking for a moment and turned to the three behind her. "Look, Souji-kun invited me over for dinner tonight, I'll talk to you more then okay?"

"Okay Din-chan, whatever you want," Sanosuke answered as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"I guess we'll see you at dinner," Heisuke said as he and the others began to walk out of the store.

"See you at dinner!" Shinpachi called as they walked out of the store and back onto the streets that were littered with people.

* * *

The trio walked down the streets, heading back to the Shinsengumi dojo. They each were thinking about something different, but mostly about Din and everything that happened ten years ago. It wasn't until they were half way home did someone say something that sparked a new adventure.

"Hijikata-sama really broke Din-chan's heart didn't he?" Shinpachi asked as he sighed. It was weird to say something like that because he had always known Din to be strong and never let anything bother her; they hadn't even seen her cry before.

"Yeah I guess," Sanosuke answered. "They won't even talk to each other now."

"We need to find Din-chan a new man," Heisuke said as he walked along the other two.

"But she's engaged," Shinpachi pointed out. "She's got a new man."

"You believed her?" Heisuke asked as he looked towards the red head.

"You think she's lying?" Sanosuke asked with concern.

"She never told us about Hijikata-sama and every woman knows that the best way to anger a man is to tell them that you've moved on when they haven't," Heisuke said as he pointed his index finger upwards and nodded. "We need to find her someone who's the exact opposite of Hijikata-sama."

"Like?" Shinpachi asked as he and the others turned the last corner to get to the dojo. The smell of burning leafs filled the air as they got closer and closer to the dojo.

"Someone nice, someone who could take care of her," Heisuke began. "He has to be a stay at home kind of guy since Hijikata-sama's the kind of guy you can't control."

"Well who do we know that's like that?" Shinpachi asked as they entered the Shinsengumi gates.

"And I doubt she wants another swordsman," Sanosuke pointed out. "After all, one's already broken her heart so why would she trust another one?"

"Who do we know that is not a swordsman, nice, smart, and is an at home kind of guy?" Shinpachi asked as he, Sanosuke, and Heisuke stopped walking and looked inward towards the Shinsengumi entrance.

The smell of burning leafs was strong, telling the three men that someone within the gates was burning leafs. A scraping sound was heard, causing the three to look to the right where they say Tatsunosuke pushing leafs into a black pit where dead leafs of the same color were burning.

"He's burning the last of the leafs already." Sanosuke commented as he watched Tatsunosuke push more leafs into the fire with a small stick he had found.

"Summer's really gonna get going…," Shinpachi said with a sigh. "I hate to have all of those cold days end. They were great excuses not to train."

"That's it…," Heisuke whispered.

"What?" Sanosuke and Shinpachi asked as they both leaned over and looked at their black haired friend.

"Tatsu-kun! He's perfect!" Heisuke yelled as he pointed towards Tatsunosuke, causing him to look up from the burning leafs.

"You were the one who said they wouldn't work!" Shinpachi yelled as he rolled his eyes.

"I did?" Heisuke asked as he looked up towards the sky, trying to remember when and if he said what Shinpachi was accusing him of.

"'No offence or anything but Din-chan's difficult, I don't know if you could handle her,'" Sanosuke said as he mimicked Heisuke. "That's what you told Tatsu-kun!"

"Well I changed my mind!" Heisuke yelled.

"You can't do that!" Sanosuke yelled.

"Says who?"

Tatsunosuke watched in wonder about what they were talking about. All he knew was that he had heard his name but figured that it must have been something stupid so he went back to pushing leafs into the burning pit, getting rid of the leafs that had fallen early.

* * *

"Hijikata-sama!" Souji said happily as he opened Hijikata's sliding door.

"Yes Souji-kun?" He answered as he turned around, his pipe smoking away in his mouth as he wrote something down on a white piece of paper. Kondo was sitting in front of him, looking serious.

"Can I have a guest over for dinner?" Souji asked.

"Who?" Hijikata twitched. He didn't like to have visitors who didn't have to be over, this was a police unit, and he wanted everyone in it and coming to it to be and act professional.

"Uh…" Souji looked around nervously.

"Souji-kun?" Hijikata asked in his serious tone, almost demanding.

"Din-chan…," Souji answered.

Hijikata twitched. "No."

"But—"

"No."

"Yes," Kondo interjected.

"What?" Souji and Hijikata asked together as they looked at Kondo in shock.

"I say that Din-chan can come over for dinner tonight," Kondo said once more as he crossed his arms and smiled.

"Kondo-kun," Hijikata hissed as he glared towards the other man.

"You don't have to see her so don't worry," Kondo said gently, trying to please both sides of the argument. "Souji-kun, it's okay as long as you keep Din-chan in the main dining room."

"I will," Souji said with a smile. "Thank you Kondo-sama."

Souji bowed down to his two commanding officers and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Hijikata looked towards Kondo only to see that he was smiling back at him. Hijikata sighed.

"Souji-kun was and still is very close to Din-chan, he deserves to see her once in awhile," Kondo explained, trying to make Hijikata see how close Souji and Din were. "But Toshi-kun?"

"What?"

"Are you really going to shut Din-chan out of your life completely?"

Kondo knew just how much Hijikata had loved Din ten years ago, and he figured that those feelings couldn't just disappear into nothing. Well, he didn't _think_ that Hijikata could do something like that.

"Yes."

Kondo didn't say anything more for he knew that once Hijikata was stuck on something, there was no way that he would be talked out of it. He just shook his head back and forth he decided to drop the whole subject until a thought came to his mind.

"What would you do if she came here and asked someone else to marry her?" Kondo asked.

"She can do anything she wants to," Hijikata answered as he began to write once more. "As she said she's allowed to love now that she knows that we're over so I don't care. Why?"

Kondo laughed a bit. "There are many men in this place, single, looking for a woman. I just thought how odd it would be if she fell for a member of the Shinsengumi that's all."

"I don't care. Besides she's not single. "

"Toshi-kun…"

"What?" Hijikata asked, now irritated by Kondo's questioning of something he was trying to let go of.

Kondo smiled back towards the demon. "It's nothing."

"Excuse me," a voice said from outside the sliding door. Hijikata and Kondo looked towards the door.

"Enter." Hijikata hissed.

The door slid to the side, and Yamanami walked in with a slight smile on his face. Hijikata twitched to see that it was he, not too happy to see the face that often argued with him.

"Hi Sannan," Kondo said cheerfully.

"I just came in to ask who we were having over for dinner tonight," Yamanami began. "Souji-kun was outside all excited about someone coming over for dinner and staying for sake."

"She's not staying for sake," Hijikata said as he glared towards Yamanami.

"She?" Yamanami asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Souji-kun asked Din-chan to come over for dinner," Kondo explained as he looked towards Yamanami.

"Din-chan?" Yamanami began to think for he had forgotten the meaning of the name. A part of him felt somewhat stupid for forgetting who Din-chan was but then again he figured that she must not have been _that_ important if he had forgotten her.

"Din Hinto…," Kondo said, hoping to remind him of who she was. "I think the last time you might have seen her was ten years ago."

Yamanami brought his hand to his chin; thinking and then the image of Din hit him. "Oh yes Hinto-san! I remember now! It _has_ been ten years since I've last seen her."

"She came over the other day when you had left and now Souji-kun has invited her over for dinner," Kondo explained. "But he didn't say anything about sake."

"You two can have sake with her," Hijikata said, causing Yamanami and Kondo to look towards him in question. "As I've said before, I want nothing to do with her."

"Come now Toshi-kun!" Kondo protested. "We could all have sake together, just like the first time. It will nice to have Souji-kun, Din-chan and us three together again."

"I really don't know if I could be there as well," Yamanami interjected, almost causing the kind hearted Kondo to become frustrated.

"Why not?" Hijikata asked, as he looked at Yamanami in question.

Yamanami pushed his glasses up with his index finger. "Well…I've never really been fond of Hinto-san."

"What?" Kondo asked breathlessly.

Kondo and Hijikata couldn't understand why Yamanami had a problem with Din. He had never spoken of it before nor had he ever acted like it around her. Maybe it was because he wanted to be respectful towards Hijikata because he knew of how Hijikata felt, or maybe it was just plain respect for her. Whatever the reason, Yamanami had never made it apparent that he didn't like Din.

"What's wrong with her?" Hijikata asked as he glared over towards the man he had known for so long.

"I've always seemed to have this issue with her…," Yamanami began. "It seems to me that she's always taken…some kind of attitude with me."

Yamanami looked at the men around him as they looked at him, almost in shock. Feeling as if he had to prove his point more to make them understand how he really felt, he continued.

"I don't know why, we've never really gotten into any kind of fight or anything along those lines but we simply just don't get along."

Kondo sighed. "Please don't tell me that it's only going to be Souji-kun and I tonight at sake."

"I'll stay," Hijikata said, getting the other two men's attention.

"What?" Kondo asked, not believing what he had heard.

"I said that I would stay for sake," Hijikata repeated.

"Thank you Toshi-kun." Kondo bowed as he looked towards Hijikata, causing him to look away, embarrassed almost.

* * *

Night seemed to have come faster then the few days before, which meant that Din would be coming over sooner then thought. But while they waited, everyone was doing their own thing, mostly training though. The trio was training, Souji was out back with the pigs, Tatsunosuke was working as usual, and Tetsunosuke was spilling the tea Hijikata had demanded. Things seemed almost normal, until nightfall.

"Ya know…," Shinpachi said, as he looked at the other two men he always hung out with. "I think Din-chan needs an escort."

"Escort?" Heisuke asked as he blinked.

The three of them were in the backyard, sitting down and cooling off after a tough training session. The cool night air was cooling them down quickly as they watched the sunset in front of them, and as Tatsunosuke brushed more leafs into a small pit in order to burn them.

"Yeah," Sanosuke said, picking up were Shinpachi had stopped, "it would be weird if Din-chan just came over without someone to lead her in."

"Who should do it?" Heisuke asked as he began to think it over.

All three of the boys looked over towards Tatsunosuke who, feeling eyes on him, looked back at them nervously. He looked back down quickly and began to move more and more leafs into the pit quicker, and quicker.

"Hey Tatsu-kun," Shinpachi's voice called.

Tatunsouke looked up only to see the trio standing next to him with grins across their faces. He fell back, almost tripping but grabbed the tree behind him for balance.

"What?" he asked nervously.

"Din-chan needs an escort when she comes over for dinner tonight." Sanosuke explained as his grin grew.

"The rest of us are busy right before dinner," Shinpachi said, continuing Sanosuke's sentence. "So we were wondering if you could go pick her up and then bring her back here."

"Yeah you already know where she lives so it should be easy!" Heisuke said happily as he closed his eyes.

"Well…" Tatsunosuke began to think it over. He was the only real person who would be able to escort her in because everyone was busy. The trio was going to train a bit more before dinner, Tetsunosuke was running around for Hijikata, and Souji was off doing his own thing.

"I guess I could do it," Tatsunosuke answered, feeling as if there wasn't anyone else to do it so he had too.

"Great!" the trio said together as they clapped.

"You'd better get going!" Shinpachi said as he ran behind Tatsunosuke and began to push him towards the front gate. "Dinner's going to be ready soon!"

"But we've got a whole hour!" Tatsunosuke protested as he dug his heels into the dirt. "Besides I can't escort her anywhere wearing something like this!"

"Sure ya can!" Sanosuke argued as he too began to push Tatsunosuke. "She won't mind! Now come on! You're going to be late!"

"But I've got an hour!" Tatsunosuke yelled.

"It takes an hour to get there!" Heisuke yelled as he waved Tatsunosuke off. "Bring her back in one piece okay?"

Before Tatsunosuke knew it, he was pushed out of the front gate, even after all of his protests. He looked back to see the three waving back at him with the same grins on all their faces. Tatsunosuke sighed.

"Tell Hijikata-sama where I'm going please," Tatsunosuke asked.

"We will," the three answered.

Tatsunosuke looked away, and down the street he had to go. He took another deep sigh and then began to walk forward, thinking that he was doing the right thing.

_I know where I'm going._ Tatsunosuke thought as he looked at the street, recognizing it from the day before. _This should go smoothly. There's nothing to get in my way!

* * *

_

No matter how much Tatsunosuke denied it, he couldn't change it; he was lost. He had been daydreaming about something that had caught his eye when he was walking around and before he knew it, he had gotten himself lost. He was now looking around for something that looked familiar but he didn't see anything that even looked vaguely familiar.

_Damn! I've gone and gotten myself lost dammit!_ Tatsunosuke thought as he looked around. _I should stop and ask someone…_

"Tatsu-kun!" A female voice called, causing the red head to turn around only to see Din walking towards him. She bowed down when she walked over closer to him. "Sorry I'm late, getting dressed took a bit longer then usual."

"It's alright I'm not exactly on time either," Tatsunosuke confessed as he scratched the back of his head. It was then that Tatsunosuke noticed that Din had changed her outfit; she was now wearing a light blue kimono which was open at the top a bit showing that she had bandages on around her chest.

"We should get going then." Din stuck her arm through Tatsunosuke's right arm and wrapped it around his arm tightly.

"What are you doing?" Tatsunosuke asked as a blush came over his face.

"You're my escort," Din said as she looked up at Tatsunosuke, surprised at his reaction to her action. "It would look awkward if I walked in with you next to me without my arm in yours."

"Y-Yeah…," Tatsunosuke's blush disappeared as he came back to reason.

"Come on." Din tugged on Tatsunosuke, telling him to follow. "We're going to be late."

* * *

R&R please! 


	5. Missing

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters. I only own Din and Setsuna.

An update, damn it's been so long. Anyways, I made a mistake in eary chapters by saying that it was the end of summer when this all takes place when in fact it's the start. I'll be going back to fix that mistake soon. Sorry.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Toshi-kun,"Kondo said gently as he walked into the demon's room only to see him sitting near his sliding doors, smoking as usual. 

"What?" Hijikata answered, not bothering to look towards Kondo.

"Din-chan's here now, just thought I should warn you."

Hijikata glanced over towards Kondo, knowing that he had to either be teasing him or being sarcastic and because sarcasm wasn't a part of Kondo's character, he figured that he was teasing him.

"Thank you," Hijikata answered, now, himself, becoming sarcastic.

* * *

"Hey guys it's about time you got back!" Shinpachi greeted as Tatsunosuke brought Din into the main dinning room.

"Yeah!" Sanosuke added as he popped up beside Shinpachi, along with Heisuke. "We thought that you two were out makin' out somewhere!"

"What the hell gave you that idea?" Din hissed as she took her arm away from Tatsunosuke. She looked up at the dark red head and smiled. "Thank you for escorting me over here Tatsu-kun. I like walking with you much better then the three idiots over there."

"Hey!" the three argued.

"Oh no problem really," Tatsunosuke said happily as he smiled back towards Din.

"Then you won't mind walking me back home after?" Din asked with a gentle smile.

"No."

Din sighed, relieved. "Thank you Tatsu-kun."

Tatsunosuke opened his mouth to ask Din if she wanted to sit down next to him at dinner when he heard the sound of someone running towards them, causing Din and Tatsunosuke to turn around.

"ONEE-CHAN!" Souji yelled as he grabbed Din and hugged her tightly, squeezing all the breath out of the older woman. "I didn't think you would come!"

"Why?" Din asked after taking a deep breath. "I said I would."

"Well…because…" Souji let Din go and moved up next to her face so that no one else would hear. "You know, Hijikata-sama."

Din giggled a bit and moved her right hand back and forth, dismissing Souji's idea. "I would never let THAT get in the way of me seeing you Souji-kun."

Souji laughed a bit, then tugged on Din's hand and began to pull her towards a sitting spot. "Come sit over here, next to me."

"Wait Souji-kun." Din pulled back a bit causing Souji to look back towards her. "I wanted to sit next to Tatsu-kun, is that alright?"

Tatsunosuke blushed a bit as he looked at Din who's back was turned towards him as she talked to Souji, all while the trio giggled next to Tatsunosuke, hitting him in his right side playfully.

"Sure." Souji smiled.

Din turned back around to face Tatsunosuke. "Is that alright with you Tatsu-kun?"

"Yeah." Tatsunosuke nodded.

"Damn she's making all of the moves!" Sanosuke whispered to Shinpachi and Heisuke. "I didn't think she would!"

"Maybe she's feeling flirtatious tonight," Shinpachi whispered back, trying to find an answer.

"Either that or…" Heisuke crinkled up his nose, getting ready to say what was on his mind. "She's horny."

"Don't say stuff like that!" Sanosuke yelled as he hit Heisuke on the head. "It's too gross to imagine!"

Heisuke grabbed his head, and squeezed it, hoping to get rid of some of the pain from Sanosuke's hit. "Dammit that hurt!" Heisuke looked back up at Sanosuke and hit him on his back. "How the hell do you like it!?"

"Hum." Sanosuke stuck his nose in the air and pushed out his chest. "I barely felt that!"

"You want me to give you one you can feel?" Heisuke yelled as he began to hit Sanosuke, catching Shinpachi in the middle of the fight as well as everyone's eyes.

"Why don't you then!?"

Sanosuke, and Heisuke began fighting, and pushing each other around while Shinpachi was stuck in the middle. Everyone who was watching then looked away, knowing that the small fight wouldn't break out into something big, so they kneeled down in front of the food that had been set out for them and began eating.

"Anyway!" Souji clapped his hands together and kneeled down in the spot next to him. "Come on Din-chan."

Din sat down with Souji on her right and Tatsunosuke. They listened to the trio argue as they ate and after the three were done, Souji, Din, and Tatsunosuke listened to the conversations of others instead of making their own which, for some reason, seemed like the right thing to do.

"So," Souji began, tried of all the stillness, "who _is_ your fiancée?"

"Oh, that." Din coughed into her right hand and placed her chopsticks down near her bowl. "Well you'll have to respect my wishes when I say that I can't tell you his name because of his job but other then that I can answer any other questions."

"Are you together right now?" Shinpachi asked as he too put his chopsticks down.

Din shook her head. "No, I broke off the engagement. We still talk now and everything but as for right now I'm single."

"I thought you were going to get married anyway," Heisuke thought out loud.

"No." Din sighed. "We're not going to go any further again. That's my fault and because he's a young guy and he's got a long life ahead of him, we talked about it, and we both consider each other friends."

"What about you?" Tatsunosuke asked as Din looked at him. "I mean what are you going to do now?"

"I don't know." Din shrugged. "With everything that's happened in my love life I think that I wasn't meant to love someone so I'll just sit back and do my best with my life."

"I think you'll find someone," Souji said, causing Din to look over towards him with the look of surprise on her face. "You're too nice to be left alone for forever."

Din let go of a gentle smile. "Thank you Souji-kun."

_So that's Hinto-san._ Tetsunosuke thought as he listened to the older people talk. He leaned in and looked at her as she spoke to Souji. _She doesn't look at all like someone who would like Hijikata-sama she looks too nice._

"So how is your search going?" Souji asked as he looked towards Din, breaking Tetsunosuke's thoughts.

"Yeah I've been meaning to ask you the same question," Sanosuke interjected, causing the other two of the trio to look at him strangely for they didn't have any idea about what was going on.

"Search?" Shinpachi asked, looking at Sanosuke, hoping he would fill him in.

"For Setsuna-chan," Din answered as she sighed. "I wish I could look more for anything about her but I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to do anything. I don't know what else I could do, I mean I've been searching for eleven years now and I haven't turned anything up…I'm almost ready to give up."

"Well I'm not going to let you," Sanosuke announced as he stuck his chest out proudly. "I promised to help you find Setsuna-chan and I'm not going to give up my search for her."

"Yeah we promised!" Shinpachi and Heisuke said together as they grinned back towards Din, now remembering what just exactly Din and Sanosuke had been talking about.

Din sighed once more, her sigh sounding like she had relaxed a bit. "Thanks."

"Excuse me," Tatsunosuke cut in, "but who is Setsuna-san if you don't mind me asking."

"It's alright." Din cleared her throat. "Setsuna-chan is my little sister. She falls behind me by three years so the last time I saw her she was fifteen."

"Last time?" Tetsunosuke asked, coming into the conversation. "What do you mean 'last time'?"

"Tetsu-kun!" Tatsunosuke grabbed his brother's head and covered his mouth. "I'm sorry Din-chan, Tetsu-kun didn't mean to be so nosy."

"It's fine." Din nodded.

Tatsunosuke released Tetsunosuke's head allowing the smaller one to speak, "What happened?"

Din took a breath in. "She and I were placed in an orphanage when I turned thirteen and she was ten," she began to explain. "We were there for the same reason hundreds of children were, our parents having been murdered by a gang of Ronin samurai. For the next six years I worked around the orphanage doing normal household chores and working out in the fields, things like that but when I got adopted at the age of seventeen, my new parents refused to take my sister. So I began to work at the orphanage just so that I could be near my sister and I was getting ready to adopt her myself but I had to wait until I turned eighteen so I waited. At eighteen I was ready to adopt her but this was the time when my new family was asking me for help in the business and if I didn't help, they threatened to kick me out and the orphanage wouldn't let me take Setsuna-chan without a place to live. So I worked until it was too late and she was adopted by someone else."

Souji sat there, listening, and knowing that Din had left so much out about everything. She hadn't mentioned anything about the Shinsengumi and how she spent so much time with them. Souji figured that she left a lot out because most of it was about how she met Hijikata and fell in love with him. But hearing this made Souji wonder, if she had left out so much about the Shinsengumi, something he knew about, could there be something she wasn't telling them that he didn't know about?

"Din-chan! Souji-kun!" Kondo called as he walked into the main dining room. "I think it's time you come and join us for sake."

"Sake?" Din asked.

"Yes!" Souji clapped his hands together. "I want you to stay for sake with me, Kondo-sama, Hijikata-sama, and Yamanami-sama."

"Oh." Din coughed. "I don't know if that's such a good idea Souji-kun, you know how Yamanami-san and I are."

"Please?" Souji looked up at Din cutely. "It's just for a little while and when's the last time we drank together?"

"Fine but only on one condition," Din agreed. "Only if Tatsu-kun joins us."

"What?" Tatsunosuke and Tetsunosuke asked as they blinked.

"Hell she's really going after him isn't she?" Sanosuke whispered to the two smaller of the trio. "I wonder what's up with her."

"Will you?" Din asked as she turned around to Tatsunosuke.

"S-Sure," Tatsunosuke answered as Tetsunosuke looked up at his older brother. Tatsunosuke caught him looking up at him and coughed a bit. "I don't usually drink though."

As Souji, Din, and Tatsunosuke got up to join Kondo near the door Din moved slowly until she was walking beside Tatsunosuke and moved over towards him giving him the signal that she wanted to tell him something.

"Thanks for coming," she whispered. "I need something who will talk to me to be in there."

"Uh, you're welcome," Tatsunosuke answered as he scratched the back of his head, not entirely sure about what she was talking about.

"Not to mention I want to get you know you better." Din pulled away and kept walking as Tatsunosuke found himself blushing a bit for some reason.

* * *

The three men and the one woman walked into Hijikata's room only to find the demon vice commander up against the right wall, smoking. Yamanami was sitting across from him, looking around as if he had never seen the place. Kondo walked into the middle of the room with a bottle in his hands while Souji took a seat next to Hijikata, and Din across the room, sitting some distance away from Yamanami. Tatsunosuke sat down next to Din and watched Kondo pour the sake into six small cups.

"It's been awhile since we've been in a room together, " Souji pointed out, breaking the eerie silence.

"Yes it has," Kondo answered as he took the spot between Din and Yamanami. "Come now let's let things that happened in the past stay there!"

It was a silent toast, people drinking the sake in their hands without raising their cups or saying anything in return. Poor Tatsunosuke didn't have any idea what they were saying but he went along with it anyway.

That was when Tatsunosuke caught the eye of the demon commander. "What's he doing here?" He asked.

Tatsunosuke twitched, scared almost until Din spoke for him.

"I invited him," Din answered. "Why is there something wrong with it Hijikata?"

She was challenging him. She could see it in the way she was looking over towards him, waiting for a response to her comment. He fought the urge to say anything back to her and took another sip from his sake cup.

"Tatsu-kun?" Yamanami asked as he leaned forward to see if it was who he really thought it was. "Tatsu-kun, I didn't see you there."

"Hi to you too Yamanami-san," Din said as she took a drink from her sake cup also.

Yamanami ignored the comment and looked over towards Hijikata. Before he knew it, Hijikata was glaring over towards him, causing Yamanami to find comfort only looking at Souji who smiled back at him.

Hijikata looked towards Din only to see the bandages wrapped around her chest. "What's the for?" He asked.

"What?" Din looked towards him in response.

"The bandages," Hijikata continued. Everyone looked back at Din to see what she would say because there were just too many answers to the question or rather ways for her to answer him and they were all dying to hear what the two had to say to each other.

"Oh…it's just a broken butterfly," Din answered, taking another sip of her sake. "It's not as well wrapped as my bandages always were when you did them though."

_Broken butterfly?_ Hijikata thought as he tried to remember what that meant for he had heard that before somewhere. _But what does that have to do with wrappings?

* * *

_

"So do you think she likes him?" Sanosuke asked as he looked towards the other two of the trio.

"She's going everywhere with him," Heisuke added. "So maybe they're getting the feel of each other or something like that."

"Who?" Tetsunosuke asked as he walked into the conversation unnoticed.

"Our plan is working better then I thought it would," Shinpachi said as he placed his hand under his chin. "I just wonder how long it will take for them to notice their love for each other."

"Who?" Tetsunosuke asked once more only to once again be ignored.

"Okay so we've established Din-chan's interest in Tatsu-kun, but is there an interest coming from Tatsu-kun's side?" Sanosuke asked.

"Who do you think we could ask?" Shinpachi wondered out loud. "We can't go straight over to him and ask."

"Ask Tatsu-nii what?" Tetsunosuke asked this time getting everyone's attention. The trio looked down at him, and grins crossed their faces as they began to giggle.

"We need you to ask Tatsu-kun if he likes Din-chan." Heisuke asked sweetly as he bent down to the small red head's level.

"WHAT!?" Tetsunosuke jumped back in surprise. "Why?"

"We wanna hook them up." Shinpachi and Sanosuke said with a grin.

Tetsunosuke blinked. He couldn't think of anything to say or yell back at them because he was too stunned at the fact that someone might like his older brother. Not because it was impossible or anything but just because his brother had never really talked about having or wanting a romance life before. Tatsunosuke had always been busy taking care of him and making sure that he was taken care of rather them himself. It was just so weird.

"Hello?" Shinpachi waved his right hand over Tetsunosuke's face, bringing him back to reality.

"Oh." Tetsunosuke shook his head. "You want me to ask him if he likes Hinto-san?"

"Yeah!" Heisuke answered happily. "Won't they be cute together?"

"I guess…" Tetsunosuke blinked, not being able to think of the right answer.

"Just ask him for us okay?" Sanosuke asked as he placed his hand on Tetsunosuke's head and laced his fingers through his hair.

"I will tonight," Tetsunosuke agreed as he pulled away from Sanosuke's grip.

* * *

"So Din-chan how has your business been?" Kondo asked as he looked towards the only woman in the room.

"Alright," Din shrugged as she answered. "I wish I could move my business since that ninja has been hanging around my area and scaring away my customers."

"Do you know anything about him?" Yamanami asked as he raised a right eyebrow towards her.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Din asked, taking offence to what Yamanami had asked her. To her, it almost seemed like he was accusing her of knowing something.

"Oh nothing," Yamanami answered with a defensive tone in his voice. "I just thought that you might have heard something since the ninja seems to be only down in your area."

"Trust me Yamanami, I don't know anything." Din laughed a bit, almost sarcastically, and took the last sip of her sake.

The room was quiet for a moment as Yamanami thought over what a bad idea it was of him to come in the first place. He looked over at Hijikata, then Kondo, almost telling them both that he had told them this was going to happen.

"So are you going to get married soon?" Kondo asked, trying to change the subject and make a better conversation.

"No." Din shook her head back and forth. "He and I broke it off and both consider each other single."

"So what are you going to do now?" Kondo asked, taking another sip of his sake.

"Run my business." Din shrugged. "I'm going to try and keep my life as interesting as possible but I don't know how I'm going to do that, maybe just keep searching."

"Onee-chan," Souji began, "I was thinking, would you like me to patrol by your place once in a while to make sure nothing is going on down there?"

"Thanks Souji-kun but maybe you shouldn't," Din answered. "I wouldn't want the Shinsengumi in full uniform to scare away my customers."

"Onee-chan?" Hijikata repeated as he looked at Souji who smiled back at him.

"Yeah Din-chan's like my older sister," Souji explained.

"I could see where you can say that," Kondo said with a gentle smile. "Din-chan has been around ever since you were nine years old."

Tatsunosuke wanted to ask questions about what they were talking about but he figured that it would be better if he kept his mouth shut. He looked down at the sake swirling around in his cup and took a small sip from it.

Din stood up and brushed herself off a bit. "I'd better get going. If I drink anymore I'll get too buzzy. Walk me home will you Tatsu-kun?"

"Oh sure." Tatsunosuke stood up, pacing his sake cup down on the ground. Din walked over to him and laced her right arm through his.

"Thanks for having me over." Din bowed along with Tatsunosuke. "It was nice to sit down with a few of you, even though we didn't talk much. I'll talk to you later Isami-kun, and Souji-kun."

"I'll be back," Tatsunosuke said as he walked out of the room with Din's arm in his. The four men in the room watched as he walked out of the room with Din and closed the door behind him and her.

"That was awkward," Souji said as he looked away from the sliding door.

Hijikata brought his pipe out from underneath his kimono and brought it towards his mouth. "You expected something else?"

"I wasn't expecting Tatsu-kun to come also," Kondo pointed out. "I was going to address something but…"

The room grew silent once more as the men sighed and began to think things, things they were afraid to ask, to say, or questions they had been wondering for years but no one said anything on their minds.

"She hasn't changed at all," Yamanami said, breaking the silence.

"She's a bit more laid back then she was before," Kondo added as he sighed and moved the left over sake in his cup around. "Maybe it is because she's got a stable job now, back when we knew her she was always working for her new parents or for the orphanage."

Souji began to stand up, catching everyone's attention. "Onee-chan still seems so lonely."

* * *

R&R please! 


	6. Trust

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters. I only own Din and Setsuna.

Enjoy!

* * *

Tatsunosuke and Din were walking through the streets, which were now quiet that it was so late. They hadn't said much of anything since they had left the Shinsengumi headquarters; instead they were looking around and listening to the sounds coming from the nighttime air around them.

"Tatsu-kun?" Din asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes?"

She sighed. "Thank you for coming to drink sake with me."

Tatsunosuke scratched the back of his head with his left arm. "No big deal, I didn't really say anything."

"But you were there when I needed you to be," Din said as she looked over at him. "It made me feel comfortable to have you there."

Tatsunosuke looked away, trying to hide the blush coming across his face for some reason. He couldn't understand why he was blushing; he just figured that it was because he was getting a compliment from what he thought to be an attractive woman.

The rest of the trip was in silence and before they both knew it, they were standing in front of Tarason Bakery. Din slipped her arm away from Tatsunosuke's and walked over to the front door, and turned to face him.

"Thanks again for bringing me down here," she said gently.

"No problem." Tatsunosuke laughed.

"If you ever want bread or anything you can just come down here." Din pointed behind her. "It was nice meeting you and Tetsu-kun."

"You too."

Din opened her front door, and walked inside, giving one final wave to the dark red head before she closed the door. Tatsunosuke sighed, turned around, and began to walk back home, feeling a bit uneasy that the ninja who had been killing people had been seen in the area he was in.

_Dammit._ Tatsunosuke thought._ I just hope I make it back home in one piece.

* * *

_

Din leaned against her front door a sighed. She opened her eyes once more to see how dark her bakery looked at night. She pushed herself off of the door behind her, and walked over to the small island she used for showing off her products to look for a candle and matches. Her hands searched over the wooden bakery, looking, and she finally found a small candle. She looked around, hoping to see the matches she always left out when she felt a man's arm wrap around her neck.

"Shit," Din hissed as she struggled against the arm.

"Looking for these?" a male's voice said as he tossed a small pack of matches in his left hand.

"What the hell do you want?" Din growled as she moved around in his arm, trying to get lose once again but failed.

"You are to die by the order of Yoshida Toshimaro-sama," Tthe man said, placing his sword near Din's neck.

"Yoshida Toshimaro?" Din repeated, her eyes growing wide. The name caused her heart to pick up and pound away in her chest but she ignored it the best she could for she needed to think of someway to get out of the situation she was in now.

Din picked up her right leg and stomped down on the swordsman's foot, and slammed the back of her head into the swordsman's face, causing him to release her. In his pain he moved his sword quickly, hoping to slash something, and caught Din's right shoulder, cutting it, and allowing blood to seep out.

"Damn," she whispered as she ducked into a hidden corner, and grabbed her wound. She looked towards the samurai and saw him looking around for her.

"Shit she got away," he hissed as he knocked over a box of wheat. "I'll just smoke her out."

He grabbed the small box of matches he had teased Din with and stuck one against the box. The small flame shown brightly in the dark room, being the only thing Din could see. The man then dropped it down on a small wooden basket, which quickly caught fire. He then lit another one, this time accidentally catching the whole box on fire.

"Crap!" He dropped the box on the floor, catching another box on fire. "She'll have to come out now."

Din watched as he ran out of the bakery, leaving her alone. She looked at the fire burning down her store and knew that she wouldn't be able to put out the fire. She cursed and kept cursing as she ran around the bakery, gathering everything she could. She ran over to a small closet on the other side of the bakery and opened it, pulling out a small metal box, and then a small wooden box. She ran back over to the main door and opened it a little only to see the man standing near the building across the street.

_Shit!_ Din thought as she looked out. _That bastard is still out there!_

Din looked as her store burned and spotted a small knife she had left out for cutting bread. She grabbed it and held it close to her body, as she got ready to go out.

"_Your arms are too small to fight against a sword of a samurai."_

Din shook her head, trying to ignore the sentence running around in her head over and over again. She got herself ready and began to count in her head when she heard someone's voice.

"Din-chan! Din-chan!"

The door in front of her opened and she looked up to see Tatsunosuke standing in front of her, panting.

"Tatsu-kun…," Din said breathlessly.

"Come on! We've got to get you out of here!" Tatsunosuke pulled her away from the door and brought her out into the street.

"Tatsu-kun wait! You don't understand!" Din froze once she stopped moving and was in the middle of the street. She looked around franticly, looking for the man that had started everything but couldn't see him. Suddenly, a shadow moved from the corner of her right eye and she quickly threw the small knife she had in her hands.

"Damn," the man whispered.

"Tatsu-kun, come on! We have to get out of here!" Din tugged on his green kimono.

"But what about—"

Din saw the shadow move once more. The man was still able to move around so Tatsunosuke and her were still in danger.

"Tatsu-kun, open the metal box!" Din yelled as she gave him the small metal box and backed up against him.

Tatsunosuke did as told and opened quickly only to find a small handgun inside of it with a small yellow envelope next to it. He blinked, not sure what it was at first until he remembered reading about it.

A gun. Tatsunosuke thought. What is Din-chan doing with one of these?

"Give it to me!" Din ordered as she opened her right hand. Tatsunosuke did as told and gave her the gun. She grabbed it firmly in her hands and looked around only to see the man coming right at her with his sword drawn.

"Din-chan!" Tatsunosuke yelled. He stood up to see what or where she had gotten hit only to see her holding the swordsman's sword back with the gun he had given her.

Din felt her arms begin to shake from the impact and the struggle of the other man. Wanting to hold on longer, she dug her heels into the dirt and pushed back only to feel her hand begin to slip.

"With small wrists like this, you'll never be able to hold up a sword against another sword."

"Red head," Din said with strain in her voice. "Take the two boxes and go back."

"But…" Tatsunosuke stood there, helpless and not knowing what to do. He had to do something but he just didn't know _what_ to do.

"Do it!" Din ordered once more. "Just go! I'll be there soon!"

Tatsunosuke picked up both boxes and began to run back towards the Shinsengumi dojo to get help. As he ran, leaving Din behind, he heard a small bang and then the scream of a man and then a woman that stopped him dead in his tracks. He turned around to see if anyone was coming towards him.

_Din-chan…_ He wondered.

As he stood there he saw a figure running towards him. He felt like he should keep running but something was stopping him. He moved a bit closer to see who it was and the more and more he looked he could see who it was. Din.

"Din-chan!" He called out as he ran over to her. It was then he saw that she had been injured; her back was bent over a bit as she ran over to him, panting. "Din-chan!"

"Tatsu-kun…," Din said as she caught up with him and grabbed his right arm. "You have to take me back…. To…the dojo."

"I will, I will just calm down okay?" Tatsunosuke petted her gently, letting her know that he was going to take her back. "We'll be there soon."

* * *

"Hijikata-sama!" Susumu called as he dropped from the ceiling and next to Hijikata's open door to his room.

"Report," Hijikata answered back seriously as he looked up.

"Another business has been put on fire sir." Susumu reported. "It's somewhere downtown. Kondo-sama is already down at the scene, I had informed him as I passed him when he was on his walk with Yamanami-sama."

"Dammit." Hijikata stood up, grabbed his sword, and placed it on his waist. "Any survivors?"

"I didn't see anyone sir," Susumu answered as he stood back up and looked Hijikata in the eye. "The business, sir, was Tarason Bakery."

Hijikata stopped moving. For that instant, everything seemed to stop. His mind went blank, and just for that second everything became empty. He didn't know what to feel, nor what to say or how to react so he just went with his gut instinct.

_No._ He thought.

"You are dismissed," Hijikata ordered as he quickly walked out of his room, and into the main building. He stepped past everyone until he got to the front gate, his mind still blank save for the word, 'no' which kept playing over and over in his head.

* * *

As Hijikata began to walk out of the front gate he spotted two people walking towards him. He stepped forward a bit, trying to see who they were.

"Hijikata-sama!" Tatsunosuke called out as he walked over to the vice commander.

Hijikata walked over to him and saw Din, hunched over with her right arm wrapped around Tatsunosuke's neck allowing the red head to act like a crutch for her so she wouldn't fall over and hurt herself.

"She's been injured sir!" Tatsunosuke said as he moved Din so that she wouldn't slip off of him.

"Let me take her," Hijikata said as he leaned down and picked up Din, cradling her in his arms.

"My boxes," Din whimpered as she held her stomach. "Tatsu-kun, hold them for me for now."

"Sure," Tatsunosuke said gently. Din looked down at him and gave him a gentle smile that caused Tatsunosuke to smile back at her. Din's eyes then closed as she sighed and rested her head against Hijikata's chest.

"Ichimura," Hijikata said seriously, catching the young man's attention. "In a half an hour I want you in my room to talk about what happened."

"Yes sir." Tatsunosuke bowed.

Hijikata then walked back into the house, leaving Tatsunosuke outside to only wonder what was going on, and how Din was going to be. He sighed and looked down at the boxes in his arms, and then down at the blood staining his green kimono.

* * *

Din was awoken by the sound of a grinding noise near her right ear. She opened her eyes to see that Hijikata was grinding something on her right side with his wheel. She blinked, wearily, and looked down towards her stomach to see a large cut now covered in white powder and that the bandages on her chest had been left intact. Her kimono was pushed down to her waist where it was left on.

"You must have done a good job," Din said as she looked back up towards Hijikata. "I can't feel anymore pain."

"Your wound wasn't too deep," Hijikata said as he stopped moving his grinding wheel and grabbed a bundle of bandages.

"Sure felt deep." She moved up, wincing once, moved in front of Hijikata, and sat down with her back facing him.

The two were quiet for a moment as Hijikata placed the end of the roll of bandages near Din's chest and she brought her hand up to hold the end in place. He then began to wrap it around Din's torso over and over again to prevent infection. She sat up a bit more to make sure that the wrapping would turn out well by nature; Hijikata used to do this for her when they were younger and when she got injured while working. Only back then they talked more then they were now.

"Yoshida is after me," Din said, breaking the silence. "It was an assassination attempt."

"What connection do you have to them?" Hijikata asked, his bandaging becoming tighter.

"Nothing."

The two were quiet once more as Hijikata finished bandaging. Din felt him stop, and then move away and go back to his grinding wheel. Din stood up, holding her stomach a bit. She grabbed her kimono hanging off of her waist and put it back around her shoulders and tied to gently.

"You don't trust me anymore do you?" she asked, not bothering to face the vice commander. She stood there, waiting for an answer but didn't get one so she continued.

"It's almost like I'm a stranger around you now. If that's what I am to you now, then I guess it's right of you not to trust me. But…this also means that…I don't have to worry about lying to you."

Hijikata stopped moving his grinding wheel. "Kondo-sama, Sannan, and Tatsunosuke-san will be in here to talk about what happened in a few moments. After the talk, we'll discuss what to do about Yoshida."

* * *

Kondo, Hijikata, and Yamanami were sitting around Tatsunosuke and Din as they both told their stories about what had happened while they were both out. Once they had finished telling each side of their stories, the room fell silent.

Din pushed the small wooden box she had saved earlier out towards the three men of power. "I'm asking you if I could just stay here for a while, just until I hear from my mother and father. This is everything I have in this world right now, it's everything I have to offer you."

Kondo took the small box and opened it to see stacks of money looking back at him. There were also small slips of paper; the papers were small writings and calculations of tabs and how much people owed her.

"Please Isami-kun." Din bowed down, her right hand clenching beside her from the pain in her stomach. "I'll work here, you know what a hard worker I am, and I won't let you down."

"A woman cannot join the Shinsengumi," Hijikata insisted as he brought his lips.

"If anything put me on as an extra cook," Din whispered loud enough for the men to hear. "I know my arms are too small to carry a real sword so I'm not asking to join, I just need housing for a while."

"What about your ex fiancée?" Hijikata asked, letting go of a small puff of smoke in the meantime.

"He's unreachable as of now," Din explained.

"Tatsunosuke-kun," Kondo began as he looked towards the red head, "I need you to leave the room at this moment."

"Yes sir." Tatsunosuke stood up and walked out of the room, taking one last look back at Din before he closed the door, leaving her alone with the men.

"Din-chan, please sit up," Kondo said gently, knowing that she was in pain. She sat up carefully and looked Kondo in the face. "I hear Yoshida is after you."

"Yes." Din nodded.

"Well then that changes a few things doesn't it?" Kondo laughed a bit, causing Hijikata and Yamanami to look at him strangely. "It seems as if we need to protect you, so of course you can stay here!"

"Isami-kun," Din said breathlessly. She bowed back down. "Thank you so much Isami-kun! I'll do my best to work around here! I'll take the household chores!"

"Din-chan please sit up, I don't want you hurting yourself," Kondo requested. "And on the chores you don't have to do them, we have a page for that."

"Who has a page?" Din asked as she sat back up, wincing once.

"I do," Hijikata answered, letting go of another puff of smoke. "The small red head, Tetsunosuke Ichimura."

"Ichi…mura…" Din muttered, as her eyes grew wide. _That's why…the two of them looked so familiar. They're the sons of Ichimura! _She thought as she shook off the shock. "I would like to start working the day after tomorrow."

"After tomorrow?" Yamanami asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Tomorrow, if it's alright with you Yamanami-san, I would like to go back to my bakery to see if _anything_ has been left behind," Din explained as she looked over towards the man with the glasses.

"I would also like permission from you to use your dojo for practice," Din asked as she lowered her head. "I have to keep up my fighting skills."

"Fighting skills?" Hijikata asked as he looked over at her.

Din brought her wrists out and looked down at them. "They're too small to hold a sword, so I would never be able to defend myself nor hold a sword against someone else so I began training in hand-to-hand combat to use my body as a weapon in case of anything."

"What are you doing that requires you to be fighting?" Yamanami asked.

"My searching leads me to dangerous places, and to dangerous people. I have to be ready to fight at anytime." Din brought her hands back down to her side and let go of a shallow sigh. "Everything about my search was in that store and now I only have a few things left…everything's…gone."

Din lowered her head and stayed in that position for a few moments, not moving or making a noise. The three men didn't know what to say so they looked towards each other, wondering. Kondo looked towards Yamanami who shrugged his shoulders, so Kondo turned to Hijikata for an answer but he just sat there, smoking his pipe as if nothing was happening. Kondo sighed; everything was on him once again.

"Din-chan, why don't you go to bed for now? It's late and you've had such a hard day." Kondo said gently.

"Right." Din stood up and took a deep breath. "Where am I staying?"

"Why don't you go and stay with Souji-kun?" Kondo offered. "I'm sure he'll let you room with him for the rest of your stay. He's right down the hallway from here."

"Thank you." Din stepped out of the room, closed the door behind her, and began to walk down to Souji's room.

"Toshi-kun how could you be so cruel?" Kondo asked as he looked over towards the demon vice commander.

"How was I being cruel?" Hijikata asked. "She's got a place to stay now so she has nothing to worry about."

Kondo shook his head, amazed that Hijikata didn't understand what he was talking about either that or he wasn't paying attention to what he had to say. "Never mind Toshi-kun."

* * *

Noise filled another dojo, miles away from the Shinsengumi headquarters. A man ran in through a pair of open doors over to another samurai who was cleaning his sword outside of the dojo in the silence of the night.

"Yoshida-sama!" The man said as he bowed down to him. "Tarason Bakery has been burned down to the ground but the owner has escaped."

"Dammit," Yoshida hissed as he continued to clean his sword.

"Yoshida-sama!" Suzu called out as he ran over to Yoshida, panting. "I found out who the business owner of Tarason Bakery is!"

"What is it Suzu-kun?" Yoshida asked as he stopped cleaning his sword and moved it down, away from his face.

"Her name is Din Hinto," Suzu answered.

"Hinto?" Yoshida repeated as a small smile crossed his face and thoughts filled his head. "Hum, this whole thing has begun to become more and more interesting. Suzu-kun, see what you can find out about this Din-san and if she is related to Setsuna in anyway possible."

"Yes sir." Suzu bowed.

"But Suzu-kun?"

"Yes?" Suzu blinked curiously.

"Take care of it in the morning, it's far too late for you to be running around." Yoshida brought his sword back near his face where he began to clean it once more.

"Yes Yoshida-sama." Suzu nodded and bowed once more.

* * *

R&R please! 


	7. Warning

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Enjoy!

* * *

Night had passed and Din was now sorting through the burned rumble and charred wood hoping to find something that had survived and that she could carry on. So far she hadn't found anything worth saving, all of her papers had burned as well as furniture.

"Dammit." Din sighed as she picked up a small piece of wood and threw it not too far away from her.

It was discouraging, seeing everything she owned and loved burned to the point where she couldn't recognize it at all. Everything she had worked so hard to earn or to keep for so long was gone now, all in the blink of an eye.

As Din searched through the rumble, Yoshida walked over to the burned down bakery to see what his assassin had done the night before. He had a small wooden hat on his head that covered his eyes, hoping that no one would recognize him right away.

_Tarason Bakery._ Yoshida thought as he stopped walking and looked at the damage. He spotted Din moving around, searching. _Could that be the owner? Din Hinto?_

Yoshida walked forward, towards the burned bakery and stood there, looking. Din caught him looking at her so she looked back at him.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked.

Her eyes. Though the color was different from the ones Yoshida was comparing them to, they were still so similar. Her face and the way she moved her facial features were almost exactly the same as hers, Setsuna.

Yoshida shook off his strange feeling. "Are you the owner of this business?"

"No." Din smiled. "I just like digging through old piles of burnt garbage."

_Her tongue._ Yoshida thought with repugnance.

"Anyway, is there anything I can help you with while I'm here?" Din asked as she looked away and went back to picking up garbage.

"No." Yoshida looked away with a small grin on his face. "I think I've gotten what I need."

Yoshida then walked away, leaving Din alone to pick up what was left of her bakery. She didn't even notice that Yoshida was now gone because she was so involved in what she was looking for. She moved a small piece of wood and saw a small metal knife looking back up at her.

_That's it!_ She thought as she bent over and picked up the knife. _At least I've got one. Now if I could find two I should be okay._

She moved another large piece of wood and saw another knife. She sighed with relief and picked it up. She looked at it, happy that she had found another one, and placed the two down her kimono top so that they would be hidden.

"Din-chan!"

Din turned around to see Tatsunosuke standing there with a small basket in his arms. Din hopped off of the burned building and walked over to him with a smile on her face.

"Hi Tatsu-kun."

"Okita-san asked me to bring this to you." Tatsunosuke held out the small basket towards Din who took it.

"Tell him I said thanks, and thanks to you too Tatsu-kun." Din sighed and looked back towards her bakery.

"I'm sorry for what happened," Tatsunosuke said gently. Din quickly turned around to him and blinked.

"You know Tatsu-kun…you're the only one who's said that to me." Din looked back away and gripped the basket in her arms. "Thank you."

"No problem," Tatsunosuke answered back as he too looked back towards the bakery. It was strange, he was there only a few days ago and now it was gone, burned down to the ground, never to be the same before.

"Tatsu-kun?" Din began. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to talk to you tonight."

"Sure. How about after dinner? Right after I put Tetsu-kun to bed."

"Sounds fine with me. Meet me in the dojo."

* * *

Hijikata stood near the well, thinking about what he had just done. Ayumu requested that she go back to her old job and Hijikata had agreed to let her go but the thing was, he didn't know if it was right or not. This was all because of Susumu, because he had gotten caught and now his sister was stepping in to make everything right in a sense.

_I'm thinking too much._ He thought as he cupped his hands underwater and brought them over his face.

"Hijikata?" He turned around to see Din standing behind him with another small box in her arms.

"What?" He looked back into the well.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm back," she said gently. She turned around and got ready to walk away when Hijikata spoke once more.

"You're now one of our cooks."

Din turned around quickly. "Why? Where's Ayu-chan?"

"Ayu-chan?" Hijikata asked as he turned around to face Din. "How well do you know her?"

"She was the one who always came by the store and bought bread for you," Din answered as she shrugged carelessly. "We just started talking to each other so we know each other pretty well and everything."

Hijikata sighed. "She's one of our watchers."

"Really?" Din asked in surprise. "I never…would have figured. I thought your watchers could only be men."

"No. Anyway as of now you will prepare meals for the entire Shinsengumi household with the help of some members," Hijikata explained as he looked away once more and back into his own reflection looking back up at him.

"Fine I might as well to pay you guys back." Din turned away from Hijikata. "For everything Isami-kun has done for me but _you_ might have an issue with my cooking, after all it hasn't changed much since the old days."

Hijikata didn't answer back but in order not to say something back to her he gripped the edges of the well. He growled and mumbled underneath his breath until he heard Din move forward.

"When will Ayu-chan be back?" she asked.

"Two days."

Hijikata heard the sounds of Din walking away, and the sound of an opening sliding door, then the shut. He sighed once more and dropped his hand into the water near the opening of the well. Missing Ayumu was going to be harder then he thought.

* * *

Night had fallen quickly, dinner had already been served and finished off, and now Tatsunosuke was walking out of the main sleeping room after making sure Tetsunosuke was asleep, he walked into the main dojo where all of the training went on to meet Din. He walked down the hallways, wondering what it could be that Din would want to talk about, the first thing coming to mind that he was in some kind of trouble but how could he get in trouble with a woman he had just met?

He reached the dojo doors and slid them open, taking a deep breath in as he did so. Once the doors were fully open, he walked in and then closed the doors, trying to be quiet. Looking around the dark room, he saw that the door leading out to the backyard was open and Din was sitting there, waiting.

"Din-chan," Tatsunosuke said gently, catching her attention.

"Right on time Tatsu-kun. Come over here," she answered back.

Tatsunosuke did as told and walked over to where the older woman was sitting. He was about to open his mouth to say something when she spoke first.

"Tatsunosuke Ichimura, one of the two sons of the Peacemaker. I didn't know that you two survived that fire."

The red head stopped in his tracks. The thought of Din suddenly becoming a threat entered his mind and the idea of having to keep Tetsunosuke away from her echoed through his head.

"Has your face ever gotten you in trouble?" she asked, breaking the silence. "I never would have thought Tetsunosuke belonged to Ichimura-san but you," She laughed, "you look exactly like him."

"What do you want?" he asked, becoming suspicious of what she was getting at.

"Nothing," Din answered with a sigh. "I just thought you should know that I knew your father and mother. Your father helped me a lot when I was younger and I never got to thank him so I figured that I would…thank you instead."

"Oh."

All of Tatsunosuke's thoughts against Din dropped and suddenly he wanted to ask her questions. He wanted how she knew his father and what exactly he did to help her but he couldn't find the nerve to ask her any of them. He figured that if she wanted him to know then she would tell him.

"So Tatsu-kun…I hope you'll accept my thanks for your father," she whispered.

"I do." Tatsunosuke sighed. Being reminded of his father wasn't his favorite thing so he changed the subject. "How's your stomach?"

"Fine thanks," Din answered, back in her normal tone. "How are you?"

Tatsunosuke walked over beside Din and sat down. "Fine I'm just a little tried from the day."

"Oh by the way." Din moved to her side and picked up a small object wrapped in a white cloth. "I made this for you while I was making dinner. It's not much but it's the best I could do without any money or anything."

She handed Tatsunosuke the object as a blush came over his face. He looked down at it and unwrapped it to see that it was a small bread loaf. He blinked, not expecting it, and looked back up at the older woman.

"It's for helping me last night. It should be more but I don't have much money right now sorry." Din laughed a bit out of embarrassment.

Tatsunosuke also let go of a small laugh. "It's fine. I understand where you are, thank you very much."

Din stretched. "I'd better get to bed. I'll see you in the morning alright Tatsu-kun?"

"Yeah." Tatsunosuke smiled.

She stood up and walked back into the dojo but stopped and looked back at the red head for a second. She shook her head, and began to walk forwards once more until she stepped out of the door and closed it behind herself.

Tatsunosuke looked down at the bread sitting in his hands and sighed. There was something about her that was bothering him and he didn't know if it was a good feeling or bad. Maybe it was because she seemed to know so much about him and he didn't know that much about her. It was just a strange feeling that he felt slowly disappearing the more and more he looked down towards the bread.

_I wonder._ He thought. _Just how she knows my father.

* * *

_

Later that night after everyone had gone to bed, Tetsunosuke woke up. He smacked his lips, feeling that his mouth had gone dry while the urge to go to the bathroom ran through his body. He sat up and pushed the closet door open.

_Bathroom…_ He thought sleepily.

He gently got out and stepped over all of the men sleeping on their futons. He walked over to the door, opened it and walked out without bothering to close it. He walked down the hallways, rubbing his eyes as he walked towards the outhouse. Once he got there and used the bathroom, he walked back out and stretched his arms over his head.

_Damn I'm tried._ He thought with a yawn.

As he began to walk back a shadow caught his eye. He saw the figure hop over the Shinsengumi walls and he heard it land on the other side.

_What the hell was that?_

The curiosity getting the better of him, he ran to the front of the house and ran past the front gates and into the middle of the street. He looked around and saw the figure run down the street so he followed, be careful to stay against the wall so he wouldn't get caught.

_Is it Yamazaki-san?_ He wondered as the night air caused him to shiver. _It can't be, I thought he was off duty for a while. It must be that ninja Hijikata-sama ran into the other night!_

Tetsunosuke stopped once he reached the middle of a large residential area to see the figure standing in the middle of the street with another figure dressed in a ninja outfit. Tetsunosuke the other figure's light blue eyes even though the darkness and how they were deadest on the figure he had been following.

"Another one of Yoshida's assassins?" the figure Tetsunosuke had been following said. "Why have you called me out here?"

"I have a message for you," the blue eyed one spoke. "Yoshida-sama knows where Setsuna-san is. He wants you to come and pay him a visit after all you are her older sister."

"Setsuna-chan is my little sister."

It's Din-san! Tetsunosuke thought his eyes growing wide. _She's_ the ninja Hijikata-sama met with the other night?!

"Where is she?" Din hissed, gripping a throwing knife between her fingers.

The other ninja laughed. "You'll have to see Yoshida-sama for _that_ information. But for now, I'm going to have to get rid of your little friend then take off."

"Friend?" Din asked breathlessly. She raised her knife up to the other ninja and through the reflection saw Tetsunosuke trying to hide behind a small wall. "Tetsu-kun!"

Din turned around quickly and ran towards the small red head, feeling throwing stars fly by her. She was just about to get to Tetsunosuke when two more female ninjas dropped down from nearby roofs and grabbed Tetsunosuke.

"Shit." Din stopped in her tracks and grabbed two more throwing knifes. "Put him down."

The feelings of being an older sibling ran through her once more and for a second Tetsunosuke changed and became her smaller sister. Din tried to push the image and feelings away but they wouldn't disappear. Her heart began to pick up and inside of her mind she began to panic but she calmed herself down.

"Put him down!" she yelled, her emotions getting the better of her.

"And if we don't?" one of the female ninja's asked, placing a knife up to Tetsunosuke's neck. "Remember where you are, you're over there and we're over here."

Din reached down to her right ankle and grabbed the gun there. She quickly brought it up, aimed, and shot the knife out of the woman's hands. The shock left Tetsunosuke open and he took action by turning around and kicking one of the ninja's in the stomach and then the other. After the both of them were down, he ran beside Din.

"Stay by me," Din ordered once he arrived next to her.

"How are we gonna get out of this?" Tetsunosuke asked, bumping up next to Din's right leg.

"We have to get back quickly. I'll have to drop you off then lead them away from the Shinsengumi," Din explained.

"I can't leave you alone!" Tetsunosuke protested.

"You're going to have too!" Din argued back. "I can't risk you getting hurt. As soon as you make it back, go back to bed like nothing happened all right? All I need is to get into more trouble."

Tetsunosuke didn't know what to do. He figured that once he got back into the dojo he would go and tell Hijikata what was going on just to make sure that Din was safe. He _had_ to do it.

"Fine," Tetsunosuke lied.

Din's left arm came down and her arm grabbed the top of his nemaki. She clenched it tightly. "We're going to run now. Stay close and in front of me so the knifes and stars don't hit you. Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Tetsunosuke grabbed Din's arm and held it tightly.

"One…two…" she counted, "Three!"

Din jumped upwards, holding Tetsunosuke tightly to her body. The three other female ninjas jumped up with her, trying to catch her. She and the red head landed on a nearby roof, and then she jumped off of the roof, landing on the street closest to the Shinsengumi headquarters.

"Come on!" Din yelled.

Tetsunosuke followed orders and began to run in front of Din. She would pull him back once in awhile as ninja stars and throwing knifes flew passed them both. Tetsunosuke couldn't see where the other three female ninja's were but he could see the knifes and stars flying towards the both of them.

They finally reached the Shinsengumi gates, and the weapons stopped coming towards them. Din pushed Tetsunosuke into the gates and looked around.

"I think…" Tetsunosuke began as he began to catch his breath. "I think they're gone."

"Still." Din looked around. "Get into the house. I'm going to check the area out."

"But Din-san—"

A ninja star and two throwing knifes came out from the dark night sky, the star hitting Din in the center of her chest and a knife hitting her right arm with the other breezing past Tetsunosuke's left arm, cutting the top of his skin.

"Dammit!" Din bent over and looked over towards Tetsunosuke. "Get into the house!"

"Not without you!" Tetsunosuke's arm reached out and pulled Din into the gates. "Come on!"

"Tetsu-kun!" Din tugged back. "I've got to go to Yoshida, he knows where my sister is."

Suddenly talking could be heard and Hijikata, and Souji, Souji in full uniform. The two looked up at the two that came out, and Din tired to run away but Tetsunosuke pulled her back.

"What's going on here?" Hijikata asked, looking around until his eyes landed on the ninja. "You!"

He walked forward pulling his sword out only to have Tetsunosuke step out in front of him.

"What?" Hijikata hissed.

"It's Din-san!" Tetsunosuke announced. "Hijikata-sama, she's injured!"

"What are you doing out here?!" Hijikata yelled, seeing his small page. "You're supposed to be in bed! And you," He turned to Din only to see her hunched over in pain, "get into my room."

"Onee-chan." Souji ran over to Din and helped her. "Come on, I'll take you into Hijikata-sama's room."

Hijikata watched as Din walked by him, her breathing shallow and hard. He closed his eyes, trying not to watch her too much. When he heard the front door close, he turned back to Tetsunosuke.

"You," he said firmly.

Tetsunosuke shivered. "Yes?"

"You are to stay in the dining room with Souji-kun and explain everything to him. Then in an hour I want you to come into my room and tell _me_."

Tetsunosuke sighed. "Yes sir."

* * *

Hijikata walked back into his room to see Din sitting down and taking the top of he ninja outfit off. He could see the wound on her arm, and the ninja star sticking out of the bandages that hid her breasts. Her wound was bleeding so she pressed the top of her ninja outfit against the wound.

"So you were that ninja I met that night?" Hijikata asked, putting his sword back onto its pedestal.

"Yes," she answered with a bit of strain in her voice.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Din bit her lower lip as a wave of pain ran through her body. "I thought that if you knew you would make me stop doing it. If anyone knew who I really was they could possibly get hurt so I kept it a secret."

"You are not to do it while you are living under this roof," Hijikata ordered as he turned around to face her.

"What?" she asked breathlessly. "I have to do it Hijikata! It's for Setsuna-chan! I have no choice! Spying was the only way I can get information about her!"

"But your spying has gotten you involved with the Choshu," Hijikata counteracted.

"I don't care!" Din yelled. "I'll get involved in whatever I have to in order to find her! I'll do anything to make sure that she's alright!"

Hijikata sighed and looked away. "How bad are your injuries?"

"I'll be fine." Din looked away from Hijikata.

"What about your chest?"

Din moved her right arm away from her other wound and pulled the ninja star out from her chest. Hijikata blinked, not believing that she wasn't in any pain from the star and that she wasn't bleeding at all. She saw this and sighed.

"I've got a small piece of wood covering that area," she explained. "Usually I have a lot more protection around my chest but all of my spying equipment burned in the fire. The only real injury I have is my arm and I can handle that."

Hijikata walked over to her and sat behind her. She moved her arm out towards him and he began to clean out the wound and gently wrap it.

"Why did you go out?" he asked suddenly.

"When I walking back from gathering my things at the bakery I met with the same woman who attacked me just a few moments ago. She told me to meet her there later that night to relay a message. Yoshida knows where Setsuna-chan is and he wants me to see him," Din explained, wincing once from the pain. "From all of the information I've gathered I know Setsuna-chan had _something_ to do with the Choshu but I don't know what that something is yet."

"You cannot go to Yoshida," Hijikata insisted.

"I don't have to listen to you," she argued.

"If you go you'll just risk more lives, you already risked Ichimura-kun's."

Din's eyes widened as the sentence hit her. He was right. She could have been the cause for the small boy's death if she hadn't been careful. She had almost taken Tetsunosuke away from Tatsunosuke and all because of her own selfish reasons.

"Shit." She pulled her arm away. "Why the hell do you always have to be right Hijikata?"

Hijikata ignored that question and changed the subject. "How's your other wound?"

"It hurts once in awhile," she answered, moving her arm down to her stomach. "It should be fine though but Hijikata…why weren't there any guards out in front of the gate? I didn't see any on the way in from the streets."

"They were attacked earlier and had come in for treatment," he answered, putting things away. "That's why were up when you and the puppy came in."

They fell quiet once more. After a few moments, Din stood up and moved her arm around in a circler motion to make sure the knife hadn't hit anything important. It moved perfectly, except for the pain. Hijikata looked up at her to see her doing this and stood up himself.

"Oh." Din reached her good arm behind her head and pulled out the red ties holding her hair back. She turned back around to the demon and handed them to him. "I think I should give these back to you. You asked me when we were younger to hold onto them for you so you would always remember what you were fighting for."

Hijikata looked up at her only to see the woman he had been in love with years ago. Now with her hair down he remembered how she always kept it down around him or when she would take it down when they were going to be intimate. She looked almost the same as she did back in those days except that her eyes and face looked tired now. Her hair was still down to her waist, and it still fell around her face the same way.

He snapped out of his thoughts. "Keep them."

"Why?"

"Setsuna-chan always liked your hair back especially with those ties," he answered.

Din closed her hand, gripping the ties. He was right, as always. She brought her hand back up to her chest and sighed. She had forgotten that small fact that used to mean so much to her.

"Hijikata…," she muttered. "Good night."

She turned away from the black haired man and pulled her ninja outfit back onto her shoulders, covering her bandages. Without saying another word she walked out of the room, and closed the door behind herself, leaving the demon to himself.

_Why is it always so damn difficult with her?_ He thought, rubbing his temples.

* * *

Instead of going back to Souji's room, Din walked down to the training dojo to see if she could talk to Tetsunosuke and make sure that he was okay. She stepped through the hallway quietly, and opened the dojo doors only to hear Tatsunosuke yelling at his smaller half.

"What were you thinking Tetsu-kun!?" Tatsunosuke yelled. "Sneaking out in the middle of the night?"

"Tatsu-nii!" Tetsunosuke protested.

"Hey Tetsu-kun," Din said gently, walking into the room, catching both of the boy's attention.

"Din-nee!" Souji ran over to her and stood by her right side. "Are you alright? How's your arm?"

"I'll be okay." Din nodded. "I just came in here to see how Tetsu-kun was, and to say sorry to Tatsu-kun."

"Sorry?" Tatsunosuke and Tetsunosuke said at once.

"Tetsu-kun, I think it's time that you go and talk to Hijikata-sama," Souji said, sensing where Din was going with things. He walked over to Tetsunosuke and when he stood up, the two of them walked out of the room, leaving Tatsunosuke and Din alone once more.

Din was the first to look away. "I'm so sorry Tatsu-kun."

Tatsunosuke sighed. "For what?"

"I put Tetsu-kun in danger." Din shook her head back and forth. "That was something I _should_ have been watching more closely to make sure no one was following me. I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to Tetsu-kun! It was my responsibility! Dammit!! He could have died."

"Din-chan." Tatsunosuke sighed.

He couldn't say anything, those were the exact feelings he had felt when he heard what happened and he _knew_ Tetsunosuke was okay but there were always the 'what if's' when it came to being an older sibling and that was something the both of them understood.

"Tetsu-kun is sneaky Din-chan, don't worry about it," Tatsunosuke said gently. "He's home and alright now."

Din turned back around and smiled. "Thanks a lot Tatsu-kun. You make me feel a whole lot better."

"Oh it's no big deal." Tatsunosuke scratched the back of his head as he blushed. He was now searching for conversation and he found it in a question Souji had already asked. "Okita-san told me that you were injured, are you okay?"

"Yes thank you," Din sighed gently. "I was just considered with Tetsu-kun."

"Thank you." Tatsunosuke smiled. "All he had was a small cut across his upper arm so other then that he was fine."

Din turned away from Tatsunosuke and began to walk towards the door leading out of the room. "Good night Tatsu-kun. I hope you can still get some sleep."

"I'll try." Tatsunosuke answered with a bow. "Good night."

Din walked out of the room, not bothering to close the sliding door behind herself. Tatsunosuke sighed as he took in everything that had happened that day, and figured he was lucky to still have Tetsunosuke with him, and that Din had put in an effort in caring for him.

_You get into so much trouble._ Tatsunosuke thought.

* * *

R&R please! 


	8. Gone

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters. I only own Din and Setsuna.

Aw no new reviews. Please review! Anyways, words in bold and italics are in English thank you!

* * *

"And then I ran away with Din-chan beside me and we barely escaped death!" Tetsunosuke said as he stuck his chest out proudly.

"Wow really?" Sanosuke asked.

Morning had come as always and had passed and now the afternoon had set in. The sun was high up in the sky and it would be warm if it weren't for the chilly wind blowing through Japan reminding everyone that winter was on it's way out.

Tetsunosuke was standing outside with Sanosuke, Shinpachi and Heisuke standing around him, listening to the story he had to tell. The trio had no idea what had gone on the night before and seeing how Tetsunosuke was there, they asked him and now he was telling them the story…or so how _he_ thought it went.

"Yup!" Tetsunosuke grinned. "That's exactly what happened!"

"What did Hijikata-sama say?" Shinpachi asked, getting into the story.

Tetsunosuke opened his mouth to answer when a loud roar came from behind them all.

"Ichimura!!"

Tetsunosuke twitched. "Oh man. Hijikata-sama's calling me, I gotta go."

"Tetsu-kun!" Tatsunosuke yelled, running up the to group. "Tetsu-kun!"

"What is it?" he asked once his brother joined in with the group.

"Have you seen Din-chan? I've got a letter I have to give to her," Tatsunosuke answered, taking in a deep breath trying to recover the breath he lost from running over to the group.

"What kind of letter is it?" Sanosuke teased as he grinned at Tatsunosuke. "Is it a koibomi?"

Tatsunosuke blushed. "I don't know I was told to give it to her! I didn't write it!"

"_Sure_," Heisuke teased, moving closer towards Tatsunosuke.

Tatsunosuke sighed. "Do you know where Din-chan is?"

"She's over by the well," Shinpachi answered, being the only nice one to answer the poor dark red head. "I think she's washing her hair or something."

"Thank you." Tatsunosuke bowed, and then walked off towards the well leaving the trio and Tetsunosuke alone.

"Hey," Sanosuke said once Tatsunosuke was out of earshot, "did you ask him whether he likes Din-chan or not yet?"

Tetsunosuke puffed up his lower lip and looked away. "No, I haven't gotten the chance yet."

"I guess it's up to us then," Shinpachi said looking back up at the group. "Come on, let's go find a way to get those two together."

"ICHIMURA!!!"

Tetsunosuke twitched hearing _that_ voice. "Coming Hijikata-sama!" he yelled as he ran away from the trio to perform his page duties.

* * *

Tatsunosuke walked towards the well, holding the letter he had been given in his right hand. He had gotten the letter when he was outside sweeping up leafs and a woman had given him the letter, telling him that the letter was from Din and that she would know who it was from. Not questioning anything and figuring that it would be important, he moved a little quicker then usual.

He rounded the corner and saw Din standing beside the stone well with her hair down in front of her face. Seeing her hair wet, and how she looked caused a quick blush to cross his face. Just seeing her like that, so unaware of his existence and so into what she was doing, just made her look beautiful to him, just for that second.

Din's eye caught Tatsunosuke. "Hi Tatsu-kun," she said gently.

Tatsunosuke coughed and stepped forward. "Din-chan, someone told me to give this to you."

He held the letter out to her, and she took it. She opened it and began to read the writing there and Tatsunosuke watched as the smile on her face disappeared and her gentle mood seemed to dissolve.

She looked away from the letter. "Thank you Tatsu-kun."

"You're welcome," he answered, a part of him wanting to know what was in the letter and why it had ruined her mood so easily.

"Excuse me." Din moved away from Tatsunosuke and ran back into the dojo, leaving him to stand there in wonder.

* * *

Din ran down the hallways of the dojo, her heart beating away in her chest. She grabbed the red ties out of her kimono and quickly tied her hair back so it would stay out of way. Coming up towards Hijikata's room she slid next to his door and without warning him, she opened the door and looked inside to see him by himself.

"Hijikata!" she said, walking in.

He twitched, irritated that she didn't ask permission to come in but he figured how well she knew him and how he hated people just walking into his room so she had to have an important reason to come in so quickly.

"I know where Setsuna-chan is." She took a few more steps into his room and closed the sliding door.

"Where?" he asked, perking up a bit.

She walked over to him and handed him the letter with the address of where her sister could be found. He read it over only to twitch as he recognized the address. A graveyard.

"It can't be her," Din insisted as Hijikata looked back up at her. "I refuse to believe that she's there in _that_ place! She can't be!"

"Din." Hijikata sighed.

"Don't!" she yelled gripping her fists together to make a small ball. "I'm going to that grave and I'm going to prove that it isn't her! Are you coming?"

"What?"

"Are you coming?" she hissed. "I'm leaving now so hurry up if you're going to come with me."

Hijikata stood up. "Let me get Kondo-kun, I'm sure he'll want to say good-bye as well."

"No one is saying good-bye," Din muttered under her breath. "We have no reason too, no one is dead."

Hijikata ignored what Din had muttered and walked past her and into the main hallway. He walked over to Kondo's door, slid it open, walked in, and closed it so that no one else would hear what he was about to say.

"Kondo-kun," Hijikata spoke; Kondo looked up at the demon. "She knows."

* * *

As Din, Hijikata, and Kondo walked out of the Shinsengumi headquarters, they caught Yamanami walking off with Heisuke and Tetsunosuke. Hijikata looked towards Kondo who laughed gently.

"He's taking the young pup out to Shimabara to have some fun. Don't worry everything will be fine," Kondo said laughing as he spoke.

Now knowing, the group began to move once more in silence. They walked through the streets, people staring at them and wondering why a woman like Din was walking around with men from the Shinsengumi. They all ignored the stares and kept moving until they came to a large graveyard.

"This is it," Hijikata said coldly, breaking the silence.

The trio walked onto the graveyard's grounds once again in silence. They walked past altars and graves; the two men looking for a grave while the one woman looked for another woman standing around or living around the area. She walked forward looking around as her heart picked up once more but when the sounds of the two men walking behind her stopped, she knew.

"Din-chan…" Kondo sighed deeply.

"_Onee-chan!! Promise me that we'll always be together!"_

Din turned around and walked over towards the grave Hijikata and Kondo stood in front of. The two men stepped away, allowing Din to get a better view of the grave that belonged to her younger sister.

"Setsuna…," Din whispered, falling to her knees.

_Hinto, Setsuna_

_1861_

"Three years ago," Din muttered as she let her fingers run over the indention on the grave. She let go of a small laugh, "They don't have the year she was born…they must have lost her papers at the orphanage."

"I love you Din-nee."

Din bent over, burring her arms in her stomach as she fell over them and began to cry. She just couldn't hold it in anymore, and before she knew it, tears cascaded down her face and hit the ground beneath her face.

"I was three years too late," she whimpered as she cried. "I'm so sorry Setsuna."

Everything was lost, her business and now the reason she had been living for the past few years. There was nothing more for her on this Earth, there was no one to look for, no one would always be out there looking and hoping to see her also. She had lost both of her parents and now the only blood family member she had left, the one that mattered the most to her.

Kondo felt a sting of depression hit him and he looked over towards Hijikata only to see him looking down at Din. He just wanted Hijikata to do _something_ for Din besides just stand there and watch her cry as if she were a stranger.

Suddenly, Hijikata moved his right hand out and placed it down on Din as she sat back up. She choked when she felt Hijikata's touch and then felt it grip her shoulder, giving her the message that he was sorry. Her right arm left her lap, crossed her chest and grabbed Hijikata's hand tightly.

* * *

Tetsunosuke was hiding in the closet. He didn't want to come out and face the world. The man he had met at Shimabara, he looked too much like the man he had seen the day his mother and father had been murdered. That man that had slain his mother in front of his eyes and smiled the entire time. Seeing it and remembering was just too much for the boy so he hid in the closet as the memories ran through him and triggered his depression.

Din seemed to be going through the same thing, no one had seen her or talked to her ever since the day she had visited the graveyard. She too had fallen into a deep depression and wouldn't leave Souji's room, not even at meal times. She had been in a sleep like state for the past three days and didn't seem to respond when anyone came into talk to her so everyone just left her alone, figuring that she needed time to mourn.

"Has either one of them said anything?" Kondo asked, looking at Hijikata, Yamanami, and Souji who sat in front of him.

"Tetsu-kun won't eat or talk to anyone," Yamanami answered. "He won't even eat the food that's put in front of him, I'm starting to worry."

"Din-nee's the same way," Souji said with a sigh as he petted Saizou. "Whenever I try and talk to her she just lays there and mumbles."

Everyone in the room sighed, wondering what they could do when Hijikata stood up and walked out of the room. The group stared at the door he had existed from, and then looked back towards each other.

"He's been acting strangely," Kondo said, hoping to give some kind of answer. "I think he's worried about Tetsu-kun and Din-chan."

"I wonder what he's doing." Souji blinked as he looked down at Saizou.

* * *

Hijikata walked into the kitchen, breezing past Ayumu who was cooking that night's dinner. He grabbed a bread loaf and looked back towards Ayumu who smiled.

"Is there something I can do for you Hijikata-sama?" she asked kindly.

"Bring some sake and rice to Souji-kun's room for me," Hijikata answered. "Meet me in the back of the room."

"Yes sir. Are you planning on cheering Din-chan up?"

"Not really."

Hijikata stepped out of the kitchen without another word, leaving Ayumu to do what she was told to do.

* * *

"Come on Tetsu-kun!" Sanosuke teased as he popped up in front of Tetsunosuke's view of his ceiling. "Wake up!"

"Please leave Tetsu-kun alone." Tatsunosuke asked, walking by the group.

"Fine." Heisuke sighed. "What's up with everybody? I heard that Din-chan's the same way as puppy boy."

"Oh." Shinpachi walked away from the group only to have them follow. "There's a reason for that in case you haven't heard."

"What?" Heisuke perked up, wanting to know what was going on.

"Setsuna," Shinpachi began as Tatsunosuke too began to listen from the doorway, "she's dead. They found her grave and everything."

"What?" Sanosuke asked in disbelief. "She can't be."

The group became still, and silent. Sanosuke stepped away from the group and covered his mouth with his right hand, letting the shock ran through him and everything hit him head on.

"I gotta go, I'll be right back." Sanosuke stepped away and walked out of the room.

"What was that about?" Shinpachi asked, looking t Heisuke.

"I don't know." Heisuke blinked. Then the thought hit him. "You don't think…" He moved his eyes towards Shinpachi.

Shinpachi picked up on what Heisuke was indicating. "That they…were in love?"

"Let's go find out."

The two ran out of the room, and ran towards Sanosuke's room, hoping to get the answer to a question they had just come up with. The question did make sense, after all whenever Din came to see Hijikata, Sanosuke would go out to see this woman and after a few weeks they discovered that "this woman" was Setsuna. Sanosuke had never said anything about liking her; in fact he never really said anything about her except that she was fun to be with. Perhaps this was the reason that why Sanosuke wouldn't give up his search for Setsuna.

* * *

Hijikata stood in the back of Souji's room, waiting for Ayumu to arrive. In the meantime he walked over to Din and placed the bread down beside her bed. Din opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him.

"Sit up," he ordered.

She didn't fight; instead she sat up and lowered her head. The demon sighed as he looked at how upset she was. Her arms looked limp, and her face was emotionless and her eyes seemed to show the emptiness inside of her.

"You have to eat something," he hissed. "It's been three days and you and Ichimura haven't eaten anything."

"Then go to him," she mumbled.

"Tatsunosuke-kun is taking care of him," Hijikata answered. "Now start eating something. Ayu-san is bringing you something besides this but I want you to start by eating this."

He moved the bread loaf out towards Din who didn't even bother to look up. Hijikata growled and sat down beside her and crossed his arms. She blinked slowly and looked towards him.

"I really don't want to eat," she said in a low voice, almost if she were on the verge of losing it. "Hijikata…I don't feel…anything."

"Just eat," he hissed once more.

"There's no point."

"What?" He raised his right eyebrow.

"There isn't." She looked away. "There's no point in being here anymore. I don't want to be here." She moved her hand up to her face and rubbed her eyes. "All my life I've just wanted to see Setsuna again and that's been my life mission but…I can't do that now."

Hijikata sighed. "Don't give up on your life because someone you loved has died."

"But she's not the only one!" Din yelled, slamming her fists down onto the floor. "Dammit you don't know how long I waited for you! I waited _seven_ years only to hear that you were dead! But now…" She sniffled. "I know you're okay. But why isn't she okay? I don't understand. If you're alive then she might be right?"

"Din." He shook his head. "Setsuna-chan is gone."

Din's hands came up to her face and hid her eyes as she began to cry. Her breathing became harder, and harder until her crying became a cry Hijikata hadn't seen in a long time. It was the kind of crying that affected the whole body; deep, hard breathes that caused the heart to pound away in her chest. It seemed as if she were trying to be quiet but she couldn't, and small whimpers came out.

"Hijikata-sama?"

Hijikata turned around and saw Ayumu standing in the doorway with a tray of food in her hands. He stood up and was walking over to her but she walked in instead and set the food down by Hijikata and walked over to Din.

"Din-chan," Ayumu whispered as she pulled Din forward and placed her head on her shoulder. "It'll be alright." She looked towards Hijikata. "Excuse me Hijikata-sama but I think we need to be alone."

"Fine."

He stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind himself. He gripped his fists together and grinded his teeth together, a part of himself hating the fact that he still hated to see her cry. He pushed the thoughts away, and walked back to his room.

* * *

"I'm sorry I had to give you that note," Ayumu whispered as she held Din.

"No." Din pulled away and sniffled as she began to calm down. "Thank you, you did just what I asked you to do."

"What are you going to do now?" Ayumu asked, sitting down beside the older woman.

"I'm going to Yoshida," she answered firmly. "I want to know who killed her and what she had to do with them. What about you?"

Ayumu sighed. "I'm going to keep spying so I have to ask you to keep cooking for me once you get better. Tonight will be the last time I cook here for a week or so."

"I will." Din wiped her eyes.

"Now if you don't mind," Ayumu stood, "I do have to get back into the kitchen to keep cooking."

"Thank you." Din stood also. "I'm in debt to you."

* * *

Tatsunosuke couldn't take it anymore. He was rubbing his head, thinking about how both of his parents died and how Tetsunosuke had seen the whole thing. He couldn't stand it; everything was coming back to the smaller boy now and Tatsunosuke felt as if he had to make it so that Tetsunosuke didn't remember what happened that day at all. That, Tatsunosuke felt, would be the only way that the both of them could get over it.

He blinked, and saw Souji sitting down in front of him. "Yes Okita-san?"

"That doesn't look like a Tatsu-kun face," Souji said cutely as he studied the other man's face. "What's wrong?"

"It's Tetsu-kun," Tatsunosuke admitted as he looked away. "I can't let him remember what happened that day. He's remembering it now. I've been trying to make him forget but he just can't."

"Why do you want him to forget?"

"So that we can both get over this." Tatsunosuke sighed. "I know it's coldhearted but I would rather him not remember it at all." Tatsunosuke sighed and moved outside and sat down. "When our parents died…all Tetsu-kun could think about was our parents while I worried about money. What an ungrateful son I am."

"Din-chan," Souji said in surprise causing Tatsunosuke to turn around and see her standing near the door. She stepped in and walked over to the red head.

"Tatsu-kun," she began, "when parents die, it's the older sibling's responsibility to care for the younger ones. That is how your parents would want you to act, so you're not ungrateful or doing anything wrong. You were forced to grown up before your time…I know how that is."

"Thank you but—"

Tatsunosuke was cut off by Din quickly moving down towards him, and wrapping her arms around his neck. He stood there, not knowing what to do, to blush, wrap his arms around her, or simply push her away. He couldn't think so he left his arms where they were.

"Please," she whispered into his ear, "take care of Tetsunosuke-kun the best you can. The person Tetsu-kun will need the most in the world will be you so be as strong as you can. I know it's hard but I believe that you're strong enough to do this. Stronger then I ever was."

She pulled away and stepped away from the two men without saying another word. Souji watched her walk out of the room, and back into the hallway and wondered why she didn't bother to look back at him. He sighed and looked towards Tatsunosuke who was looking down.

"What was…that about?" he asked, trying to figure out the strange feelings running through him.

Souji got up and stood beside Tatsunosuke. "Her smaller sister, Setsuna-chan…they found her grave."

Tatsunosuke gulped. She had lost someone, the only person left to her, and he still had Tetsunosuke. He wondered how he would be able to handle Tetsunosuke death if anything ever happened to him but he just couldn't process the thought through his head.

"Setsuna-chan and Tetsu-kun are very much alike," Souji spoke, breaking Tatsunosuke thoughts. "They were both small when they lost their parents, both involved in things too old for their age, and both close to their older siblings."

"I know it's hard but I believe that you're strong enough to do this."

Tatsunosuke sighed. This thing with Tetsunosuke, he hoped, would be over soon. He looked up towards the sky, and wondered just how he was doing as he raised his smaller brother on his own. He wondered if his parents were happy with the way he was handling things and if they would be proud.

_Am I really…that strong?_ He wondered.

* * *

R&R please!! 


	9. Yesterday

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thank you so much for all of your reviews! They make me think this story is worth keeping up with! Much love to all of you! Bolded words are in English!

Enjoy:

* * *

Fire. He could smell the fire and see it all around him as he clung to his mother, his father dead beside him. He whimpered out and looked forward to see the man covered in darkness with a sword by his side. He cried out for his mother but she didn't respond. He called out over and over again but he got nothing in return. Suddenly, the man raised his sword, and slashed it downwards, and Tetsunosuke called out.

"_Seven spring herbs, shepherds purse. Ere do the western birds._"

Gentle singing in a strange language Tetsunosuke had only heard his father speak woke him up. He began to remember the song but in Japanese, not this strange language.

"_To the lands of the east. Come across the sea to roost._"

He opened his eyes fully and felt someone gently pushing his hair behind his ear. He blinked and looked upwards to see Din humming gently and looking out towards the open door.

"Din-chan?" he asked sleepily.

"Morin' Tetsu-kun," she answered sweetly.

He looked around to see he was still in the closet and that Din had crawled inside and placed his head in her lap. He fell back down into her lap and blinked slowly, almost falling back asleep.

"I didn't know you could sing," he said.

"I can't." She smiled. "It's just a lullaby, all women can sing lullabies."

"Din-chan?"

"What?"

"Do you love Hijikata-sama?"

Din took in a deep breath, and then released it. "You never stop loving someone Tetsu-kun. Our love was a long time ago, and…" She stopped.

He waited a few moments, drifting in and out of sleep but trying to stay awake so that he could hear her answer. "And?"

"It was too long ago," she finally answered. "Get some sleep alright Tetsunosuke-kun? I'll be by later to check on you again."

"Alright."

Tetsunosuke closed his eyes and felt Din begin to pet him once more. His breathing slowed down, and he finally fell back to sleep, allowing Din to get up and leave the young boy alone once more.

* * *

Tetsunosuke woke up to see that night had finally fallen. His stomach growled, and feeling like he should get up and do something about it, he got up and began to walk towards the kitchen when he saw a woman walking in the courtyard. He had never seen her before and stopped to stare at her.

"Tetsu-kun?" she asked walking towards him.

"Who are you?" he asked.

She picked up her hair and moved it up allowing Tetsunosuke to see that it was Ayumu, only with her hair down. Recognizing her, he smiled.

"What are you doing up so late?" she asked sweetly.

"I'm hungry." He grabbed his stomach to show what he meant.

"Good thing I saved you something from dinner." She laughed. "Come on, I'll warm it up for you."

The two were sitting down, Tetsunosuke swinging his feet back and forth over the wooden flooring while Ayumu watched him with a smile on her face. He ate the food she had given him and was almost done when he put the food down and looked up towards her.

"Ya know you're like an older sister to me," he said with a smile. "All Tatsu-nii ever does is yell at me."

Ayumu's eyes watered as she listened. Tetsunosuke reminded her of Susumu when he was younger, and how he wanted to grow up to be a ninja like her. But now, Susumu was putting himself in danger to be like her, and now she had to go out and fix everything, leaving Susumu alone.

She reached out and grabbed Tetsunosuke, putting his head in her chest. He blinked and looked up towards her face to see that she was crying now as she held him.

"Please," she began, "become friends with Susumu-kun. Teach him things about how to be a friend and how to live. Please Tetsu-kun."

"Alright," he answered gently as he watched tears fall from her eyes.

She pulled away and wiped her eyes. "Thank you Tetsu-kun. Please take good care of him."

Tetsunosuke watched as Ayumu stood up and found that he didn't understand anything that had just happened. He didn't know where Ayumu was going but he wanted to know why she acted as if she was going to leave and never come back.

"Bye Tetsu-kun," she said sweetly.

"Bye." He waved back.

* * *

Ayumu began to walk through the gates, leading to the Shinsengumi and turned around to take one last good look at it. She looked towards the walkway, and wondered if she'd ever walk on it again.

"Ayu-chan."

She looked towards the corner and saw Din walking towards her with her arms folded across her chest. She walked closer towards the other woman and wrapped her arms around her.

"Please be careful," Din whispered as Ayumu hugged her back. "If you need anything just send a messenger and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"I will," she whispered back, even though she knew that she wouldn't do something like that to endanger Din.

"I should be there in a few days so don't be surprised when I show up." Din squeezed Ayumu's shoulders.

"Remember," Ayumu pulled away, "act as if I'm no one to you or they'll get suspicious."

"Don't worry your pretty little head over it." Din laughed. "I'll see you soon okay? Please be careful."

Ayumu nodded and walked away from the gate. Din stood and watched her disappear into night just like she was trained to do. Din sighed and continued to look down the road only to wonder if Ayumu would ever be coming back.

* * *

"Hey Tatsu-nii?"

"Yeah?"

Tatsunosuke was busy doing some last minute work when his younger brother had come into the room and had just sat down next to him. The silence in the room forced Tatsunosuke to keep working to keep his mind busy and he didn't leave his work when Tetsunosuke called out to him.

Tetsunosuke sighed. "Do you…like Din-chan?"

"What do you mean by "like"?"

"Ya know." Tetsunosuke fell back and looked at the ceiling. "When you like a girl and you wanna be close to her all the time. You get this strange feeling around her and even though the feelin' is weird…you like it."

He was describing the way he felt about Saya. Her face passed in front of his eyes, as if she were looking down at him from the ceiling with that smile on her face. He lost himself as he thought about her, and completely forgot about what he had asked his older brother.

"Tetsu-kun." Tatsunosuke sighed. "Please don't worry about things like that with me. Just worry about recovering alright?"

Tetsunosuke took in what his elder brother had said but quickly dismissed it, as a question popped into his mind that _he_ thought was important.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend Tatsu-nii?" the smaller one asked.

"Tetsu-kun," Tatsunosuke hissed, becoming slightly irritated. "Please do as I've told you and go to bed."

Tetsunosuke sighed loudly and heavily. "_Fine_. Good night."

"Good night, I'll be in as soon as I'm done with this paperwork," Tatsunosuke called after the smaller one had left.

He heard the sliding door close allowing him to stop working and sigh. He thought of a time over a year ago when he had spotted a couple, walking together while he was working to put food on the table for Tetsunosuke. He remembered that being the first time he had ever wished he had a partner to help him with Tetsunosuke. Then he wanted a girlfriend, he wanted to feel close to someone and talk to him but the thought of Tetsunosuke being hungry entered his mind and he forgot the wanting entirely. Since then the wanting had disappeared and now that he was in the Shinsengumi, he wouldn't want to risk a woman getting hurt because of him.

_Oh well._ He thought as he looked up towards the moon. _Maybe it just wasn't supposed to happen to someone like me.

* * *

_

Late night had finally come to the Shinsengumi. The moon was high in the sky and crickets began to chirp and told their story that summer was beginning and soon the land would be covered in their song. Most of the Shinsengumi members were resting, except for three people.

Hijikata pulled the black tie out of his hair, allowing everything to fall downwards. He brought his hands to the front of his face and dragged them down; tired from the long day he had just gone through. He turned around to see his futon laying down, already ready for him to finally lie down and relax.

_Finally_. He thought, closing his eyes.

His hands reached down to his kimono and grabbed the tie there. He tugged on it, loosing it and allowing the top of his kimono to fall off of his shoulders.

"Hijikata?"

He turned around to see Din standing near the door and closing it behind herself. Hijikata quickly grabbed his kimono and wrapped it around his shoulders and tied it off to keep it together.

"What?" he hissed irritated that his sleep had been delayed.

She stepped over to him in silence as he turned around to face her. She walked over towards him, stood in front of him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing up on the end of her feet to do so.

He stood there, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to touch her, he didn't want to feel her against him so he kept his arms down at his sides, and simply lowered his head down to her.

"I looked for seven years," she whispered. "For seven years I wanted to be here, like this with you and now I can finally do it."

"Din," he whispered in a low tone so only she could hear it.

Her fingers laced through the back of his hair, and gently tugged on it. "Hijikata…you're one of the only people I have left here on this Earth so please don't do anything stupid."

Hijikata sighed lightly. "Din, you know—"

"I know!" She gripped his hair tightly as she began to cry. "I know what you do I'm just telling you to be careful. I want this to pass through your mind as you're out there fighting, I want you to know that I'll be waiting for you to get back whenever you leave."

Hijikata felt wetness on his neck from Din. He felt a feeling come from his stomach and up to his chest, a feeling he knew too well. He hated seeing her cry and hated himself every time she cried over him. A part of him wanted to fix everything and make it so that she could stop crying, and another part of him wondered why he still cared.

"Right now you're the only person I have left," she whispered. "And I know that you hate me for whatever reason but please try to stay alive for me. Just until…I'm alright."

"Hate you?" Hijikata whispered back in surprise.

"You hate me." She sniffled. "I know you do and…a part of me hates you."

She pulled away from him and brought her arms back down to her sides. She took in a large breath and looked away.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you with all of this," Din said, wiping her eyes quickly. "You're just the only one I have left to talk too right now."

Hijikata looked away and rubbed his temples. "Why don't you try and get some sleep. I have to wake you up early to make breakfast."

"Right." She too looked away. "Keep moving forward because this damn world won't hold still for anyone or anything."

Din walked towards the back door, and slipped out, closing the door silently behind her. Hijikata quickly undid his kimono and slipped underneath his covered, fearing that someone else would come into his room and bother him. He closed his eyes, trying to sleep but all he could think of was what Din had just said.

"You hate me."

He didn't hate her. He was cold and distant because he didn't want her to get too involved in what the Shinsengumi was doing. He had made this choice three years ago when he told a friend of his to tell Din that he _had_ died. It was hard for him, but he knew that if Din got too close she would end up like Setsuna, who he knew was already dead. He _had_ to do it because, deep down inside, a part of him still loved her but knew that there was someone else for her out in the world. As long as he was in the Shinsengumi and was the leader, he would always act as if he hated her and would be as cold as he could to her just to keep her safe.

* * *

"Did ya ask him?"

Tetsunosuke sighed as Shinpachi and Heisuke sat around him during dinner the next day, bothering him as usual. Tetsunosuke put down his rice bowl and looked towards the two only to notice that one of them was missing.

"Where's Sanosuke-kun?" the red head asked, ignoring their pervious question.

"Oh _him_." Shinpachi crossed his arms. "He's out with Din-chan doing something. He's been acting weird ever since he found out about Setsuna-chan."

"What's wrong with that?" Tetsunosuke blinked, confused.

"Oh nothing." Heisuke sighed. "Anyways, did you ask him yet?"

"I tired but all he did was tell me to go to bed." Tetsunosuke finally answered. "Maybe he doesn't like her after all."

"Hum." Shinpachi cupped his chin in his fist. "Then we gotta do something."

"I've got it!" Heisuke slammed his right fist into his open left hand. "I'll deploy my perfect plan once those two get back from their walk!"

* * *

Yamanami, Kondo, Hijikata, and Souji all sat in Hijikata's room as usual, talking about things that had been happening around the dojo.

"So the two of them are alright now?" Souji asked sweetly as he looked towards the older men.

"It seems so." Kondo smiled. "Din-chan came into my room this morning and had breakfast with me so I assume she's feeling better." Kondo turned to Hijikata. "How's Tetsu-kun been with his page duties?"

"Today is the first day he's been working normally." Hijikata took a drink of his tea.

"That's wonderful!" Kondo said happily. "I'm glad to see that everyone is back to normal!"

The room fell quiet. Each of them looked down towards the ground as if their thoughts were one shared between them. Hijikata looked towards Kondo, who sighed and looked away towards Souji. Souji looked downwards towards his hands and moved them around while Yamanami sighed louder then anyone else in the room.

"Should we tell her?" Yamanami spoke, breaking the silence. "Should she know what we know about Setsuna-chan?"

"I think she deserves to know," Kondo agreed. "She—"

"No." Hijikata cut in. "We made a pact never to tell her and that's how it's going to stay."

"But Toshi-kun!" Kondo protested. "Don't you think she deserves to know? Especially now?"

Hijikata stood up and walked over towards the back door. He grabbed the handles and opened the doors as far as they would go and let his arms fall back to his sides.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Hijikata hissed. "That's the way it was, and that's the way it will stay."

* * *

Tatsunosuke sighed as he walked through the dojo's hallways with papers in his arms. He had been working all day organizing the stack of papers he was carrying as his last task and, as soon as he filed them away, he could finally finish the dinner he had wanted to start.

"Hey Tatsu-kun!" Heisuke said with a sly tone within his voice. "Did you finish _all _of your work?"

"Yes." He nodded, being polite even though he wanted to hurry up and finish.

"Alright then." Heisuke stepped to the side, allowing Tatsunosuke through.

Shinpachi quickly ran over to Heisuke and ducked behind him. "They're back!" He whispered. "They're coming over here so hurry up and make your move!"

"Right." Heisuke grinned.

Tatsunosuke walked passed the two and opened a nearby door. He walked in, carefully placed his work down onto the floor near a larger pile of books, and sighed. He figured that he would put everything away later, giving him something to do in the morning when he woke up.

His stomach growled. _I'm so hungry._ He thought, holding his stomach._ I haven't eaten since lunch. I guess I deserve to end everything a bit early._

He began to walk outwards when he heard Din, Tetsunosuke, and Sanosuke's voices. Wondering what Tetsunosuke was doing up so late; he walked out of the room to see that the three had joined up with Shinpachi and Heisuke.

"Ready?" Heisuke whispered to Shinpachi.

"Yeah I guess." He scratched the back of his head.

As Tatsunosuke came closer towards the group, Heisuke punched Shinpachi in his upper arm, causing the red head to yell and hit him back. Heisuke hit Shinpachi once more and ran so naturally he chased after him. They ran through the group and slowly moved towards Tatsunosuke and Din who was now next to Tatsunosuke, talking. Heisuke slammed into Din, pushing her into Tatsunosuke. She fell onto him and Shinpachi, unable to stop running, crashed into Heisuke who pushed Din more and caused Tatsunosuke to lose his balance and fall over.

"Oops sorry!" Heisuke laughed as he stood up. "Didn't mean to slam into you!"

The standing group looking down towards the knocked down two and saw that Din and Tatsunosuke's faces were close to one another's, and Din's arms between the gaps in his arms, which were holding him up. Tatsunosuke's face was a bright red color from having Din so close to him while hers cringed as she gritted her teeth together and sat back down, clutching her right shoulder.

He remembered her shoulder injury. "Din-chan!" He sat up quickly and moved forward towards her. "Are you alright?"

"I'll be okay," she answered with a smile. "Are you okay? I fell on you pretty hard."

He blushed once more. "I'm fine."

The two of them stood up without help from anyone around them and looked back at the group. Tetsunosuke began to snake away, hoping not to get caught but was tugged back by his brother.

"And why are you up so late?" Tatsunosuke asked. "I told you to get to bed two hours ago!"

"I know I know!" Tetsunosuke whined as he pulled away. "I just…" He looked away.

"Just what?"

Tetsunosuke looked up towards Din. "I wanted to make sure Din-chan came home okay."

Din's eyes softened. She bent down to Tetsunosuke's level and gently petted the right side of his face.

"Tetsu-kun, please don't worry about me," she said gently. "I'd much rather have you in bed then up waiting for me alright?"

He puffed up his cheeks. "Fine."

Tetsunosuke pulled away and looked up towards his older brother. Tatsunosuke gave him a stern look, telling him to do as he was told so the smaller red head turned around and walked away.

Din sighed and stood back up as the room fell back into silence. Everyone stood in a circle, waiting for someone to say something but the silence was broken when Tatsunosuke's stomach growled loudly.

"Hungry?" Shinpachi laughed.

"Yeah." Tatsunosuke scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed. "I've been working all day."

"Well too bad then, we just finished the last of the dinner." Heisuke laughed as he pointed to himself and Shinpachi.

Tatsunosuke twitched. Here he was expecting a nice dinner to end the day that had caused him to work so hard. Now he had to go in the kitchen and make his own food and a part of him thought that it wasn't worth the trouble and he should eat a lot at breakfast the next morning.

"Don't worry I'll make you something," Din said, moving her right hand back and forth. "I haven't really eaten today either so I'll make you something too."

"No—"

"Don't worry!!" Din repeated playfully. "Come on Tatsu-kun!"

Din walked towards the kitchen, Tatsunosuke following behind her with a slight blush on his face. It was strange, no one had ever taken care of Tatsunosuke, and instead he had taken care of other people and always placed himself second. But now, a woman he barely knew was taking care of him in a way. It made him fell strange but a part of him liked it even though he didn't think he deserve it.

* * *

R&R please! 


	10. Food

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thanks for the reviews!! Enjoy!!

* * *

Tatsunosuke and Din walked back into the empty and now dark kitchen, him behind her. She walked over to the nearby stove and lit it, then lit a nearby candle allowing both of them to see a bit better.

"Anything specific you want?" she asked, turning to him.

"Rice pudding will be fine." He scratched the back of his head. He didn't want her to put herself out just for him so he picked the easiest thing to cook.

Din sighed. "Come on Tatsu-kun! I'm a cook, I can make you anything you want."

"No really, that's all I want."

Din turned back to the stove and sighed once more. "I'm going to reheat some of the boiled fish and side dishes Ayu-chan made the other night for the two of us alright? You don't have to eat it if you don't want to but you can if you want."

Tatsunosuke blushed. "Thank you." He bowed.

* * *

"_That_ was your big plan!?" Tetsunosuke asked as he looked up at Heisuke. "I thought it was gonna be better then that!"

"What?" Heisuke laughed. "It was great! They fell into each other and now they're in the kitchen cooking together! What more could you ask for?"

Tetsunosuke puffed up his cheeks and turned away from the group. "I don't think it's working. Tatsu-kun doesn't like her and there's nothing we can do about it so let's just give up!"

Shinpachi and Heisuke looked towards each other, and then towards Sanosuke who grinned and leaned forward towards the small red head.

"I think someone's jealous!"

"I am NOT!" Tetsunosuke yelled, stomping his foot.

He was. He didn't want to lose his only brother, the only thing he had left. He didn't want anything to change between them, things had been the same for years and he didn't want someone coming in and messing everything up.

"But don't ya think that Tatsu-kun needs someone to cuddle with?" Shinpachi teased. "And to…"

Tetsunosuke's face drained of color. "EW! Don't talk about my onii-chan that way!"

"Fine, fine." Sanosuke pulled away from the smaller boy. "Come guys, let's get to bed, we gotta train tomorrow morning."

"Alright." Shinpachi turned away. "Good night Tetsu-kun!"

"Yeah," Heisuke turned also, "night!"

"Good night." Tetsunosuke answered with a heavy sigh.

* * *

A few hours had passed and Din and Tatsunosuke were still sitting down outside of the kitchen talking to one another. Their talk had ranged from a number of different things, people they used to know, where they had been, what types of food they had eaten before, and what kind of drinks that they had tasted before. Both of them shared a number of stories about embarrassment, past schoolings and teachers, and where they had been through out their lives. Conversation was good, as well as the food that Tatsunosuke had eaten. He ate more then he had planned to just because he was hungry and wanted to stay and talk to Din about things. They had more in common then he thought they would and found that he really liked having someone to talk too about things _he_ liked for once.

"And that's how we got into the Shinsengumi," Tatsunosuke finished as he began laughing.

Din laughed out loud; Tatsunosuke laughed a bit more as well. She quickly covered her mouth and giggled, trying to be quiet for the people sleeping around her.

She came to a stop and took in a deep breath to recover from laughing. "Damn Tatsu-kun, that's too funny. Tetsu-kun is so cute!"

Din stood up and stretched her arms upwards. She stepped off of the wooden floor and stood in the middle of the grassy yard in front of her, looking upwards towards the night sky.

"What is it?" Tatsunosuke asked, blinking.

"The stars," she answered in a dreamy tone. "They're really bright tonight."

Tatsunosuke stood up, brushed a few crumbs off of his kimono and walked out to where Din stood. Wanting to see what she seemed to like, he looked upwards with her also.

"Stars get really bright around summer," she said. "I guess summer _is_ coming. Time has been going by so fast nowadays."

"It is," Tatsunosuke whispered.

The stars just looked so bright without anything blocking them or without a moon to out shine them. Everything around them was black with only small specks of light shining through the darkness and reaching Earth. It was so breathtaking.

The dark red head heard Din moving and watched her as she sat down on the ground and fell back onto her back, looking upwards. Sitting beside her, he moved his head to look back up towards the stars.

"Ya know, Tetsu-kun reminds me a lot of Setsuna-chan," Din said; Tatsunosuke looked back down to her face. "Tetsu-kun's seen more of his parent's death then she ever did of ours so Tetsu-kun seems to be stronger. It was funny," Her voice cracked, "even though she would try and hide the fact that she was upset I could still tell."

Tatsunosuke's eyes moved away from her face and down towards her left hand, the closest hand to him, and saw it gripping the grass tightly. He moved his right hand towards hers to try and comfort her and her hand released the grass and grabbed his hand tightly.

"When she'd come out of her room with her eyes all puffed up and when I could hear her crying before she slept." Din squeezed his hand. "I hated it and there was nothing I could do."

"Din-chan," Tatsunosuke said gently.

"I know it's hard but I believe that you're strong enough to do this."

Is this what she meant? Was he stronger then her because he never talked about how he felt until his feelings exploded and then someone _had_ to ask him about it? Thinking about everything she was saying, he squeezed Din's hand back, catching her attention.

"Am I really _that_ strong?" he asked out loud. "Am I strong enough for Tetsu-kun?"

Din took a deep breath in and tightened her grip once, then again, catching Tatsunosuke's attention.

"You're in the Shinsengumi where Tetsu-kun will have protection, and friends. And you've got a steady job that feeds him every night, and more importantly, you're there for him whenever he needs you," Din said with a heavy sigh. "You're the older sibling I wish I could have been."

Tatsunosuke's eyes widened and then relaxed. Her words hit him and sunk deeply into his mind but were quickly thrown out as he thought of something that clouded the rest of his thoughts.

"No I'm not," he spoke. "If anything I'm a failure. If I remember correctly it was Tetsu-kun that was in the closet not to long ago. I've never done anything to help him."

"Tatsu-kun." Din sighed. Her grip on his hand stopped being so hard and became gentle. "Do me a favor, tomorrow watch Tetsu-kun when he's out doing laundry with me. Just watch him and tell me that you've never done anything to help him."

The two of them grew quit, their hands still locked together. The grip of their hands was gentler now, the both of them just holding hands now because they didn't know what to do or say next.

"Anyway," Din said suddenly, "let's get off of this subject. Can you cook? I'm assuming you can after all you had to cook for Tetsu-kun right?"

"Yes I can." Tatsunosuke laid down beside Din, looking back up towards the sky. "Why?"

"Well I figured that I made you dinner and perhaps you could make _me_ something tomorrow night," she confessed. "Just something small."

He blushed. "I guess I could."

"Thanks." Din giggled a bit.

Silence surrounded them once more only this time they weren't quiet out of fear or lack of knowledge, this time the silence was just welcomed for some reason. Tatsunosuke then realized just how tired he was from his day and began to close his eyes, feeling like he deserved it.

"Tatsu-kun?" Din asked with a sleepy tone. "Wake me up if I fall asleep."

"Sure," he answered, keeping his eyes closed.

The crickets chirping slowly drifted Tatsunosuke into sleep as he forgot his promise and fell into a deep sleep. He could still his hand tied to Din's, too tired to take it back and not wanting to have his hand leave hers, he left it where it was and hoped it would be the same when he woke up.

* * *

Hijikata woke up the next morning to heat. He hissed to himself and sat up, and pulled his hair back into its normal position.

"Hijikata-sama!" Souji called from outside the door.

"Enter." Hijikata sighed.

Souji walked into the room and closed the door behind himself. "Hijikata-sama, Din-nee didn't come to bed last night. She's not in the kitchen either, I thought she might be in here with you."

"No." Hijikata stood up. "I'll go find her."

Hijikata walked over to his back door and opened it, seeing Din and Tatsunosuke still laying down outside, facing one another. His eyebrow twitched as he saw the two, catching Souji's attention.

"What is it?" Souji walked up to Hijikata and saw what he was seeing. "Oh, I guess that's where she's been."

Hijikata stepped outside, leaving Souji, and walked over towards the two. He bent down to Din and grabbed her shoulder.

"Din, wake up," he said in a firm voice. "Wake up, you're behind in all of your duties."

Din opened her eyes, blinked a few times, and looked up at him. Remembering, she sat up, releasing Tatsunosuke's hand, and stood up.

"I'm sorry Hijikata." She rubbed her head. "Dammit."

She turned away from him and quickly walked towards the kitchen. Hijikata watched her leave, somewhat angry that she didn't say anything else and turned back to Tatsunosuke who was starting to stir.

"And shouldn't you be doing your duties?" Hijikata asked with an even firmer voice.

"Oh." Tatsunosuke stood up. "I'm so sorry," he bowed, "I'll get right to them."

Hijikata watched Tatsunosuke walk away as well and heard someone walking towards him. He turned around to see Souji with a smile on his face.

"You were quick to jump him," Souji said with a hint of teasing in his voice. "You wouldn't happen to be getting jealous would you?"

"Jealous of what?"

"The fact that she's hanging out with Tatsunosuke now." Souji giggled.

"No." Hijikata turned away.

Hijikata figured that his conversation with the unit captain was over, so he stepped away from him and walked back to his room. Somewhere, deep inside of his heart he was somewhat jealous. Just the thought of Din with another man angered him but then he remembered that she didn't belong to him so it didn't matter.

* * *

Noon had settled in, and Tatsunosuke was taking his lunch break. He was sitting down where he would be able to watch his younger half do the laundry just as Din had told him to do and was waiting to see what she had been talking about.

"Hey puppy-kun!" Heisuke called out as Tetsunosuke threw a kimono up on the laundry line.

"What?" he yelled back.

The trio ran passed the small red head and Shinpachi smacked him on the back of his head to irate him, then ran away.

"Hey!!" Tetsunosuke yelled. "Get back here!"

"Ya gotta catch us puppy-kun!" Shinpachi yelled.

"Get back here!!"

Tatsunosuke smiled. Tetsunosuke was running around, chasing the three but he could tell that he was having fun. He had someone to talk to, and people to run around with and keep him occupied.

"See what I mean?"

Tatsunosuke looked to his right to see Din with a collection of laundry underneath her arm.

"You gave that to him Tatsu-kun. You got in here because you're a hard worker and if you hadn't applied yourself, who knows where Tetsu-kun would be." Din said with a smile.

"Maybe you're right," Tatsunosuke answered back, feeling a bit more confident.

"By the way, I'm looking forward to that dinner you're making me."

"Oh." He blushed. "It might not be too good."

"We'll see."

Din stepped off of the wooden planks and walked out towards the well while Tetsunosuke ran around her, screaming and yelling.

"I see you're getting to know Hinto-san very well," Yamanami said as he walked up to the blushing man.

"Oh we're just friends sir." He scratched the back of his head.

Yamanami sighed. "Hinto-san has a lot of untapped issues she's dealing with right now I hope she hasn't expressed any of them with you."

"No." Tatsunosuke shook his head back and forth. "She's never mentioned anything like that."

"Well I hope you two get along well." Yamanami smiled. "Have a nice day Tatsu-kun."

"I will Yamanami-sama." Tatsunosuke lowered his head.

Yamanami stepped away from the dark red head and began walking back towards his own room. _She's getting close to Tatsu-kun. I wonder why?_

* * *

Din was now in the backyard with Tetsunosuke only. He had chased off the trio and had begun to do his duties once more.

Din picked up a kimono to wash only to realize that it belonged to Hijikata. She looked at it and blinked a few times, wondering if it smelled just like it used to. Wanting to know now, she brought it up to her nose and gently smelled it.

Memories of Hijikata filled her mind as the scent ran through her. She remembered the times where she would lay against him and smell him, or when she would fall asleep with that smell singing her to sleep. It was a smell she had missed and couldn't be replaced but there was another smell almost as good.

"What are you doing?"

Din looked to her right and saw Tetsunosuke standing there with a look of wonder on his face.

"Nothing." She pulled Hijikata's kimono away. "Come on, let's get back to cleaning."

Tetsunosuke's blinked. He didn't understand why Din was sniffing Hijikata's kimono so he quickly moved away from it. He would just leave it alone for now, and ask someone about it later.

* * *

Night had fallen quickly. Din had cooked for the household as usual, and now Tatsunosuke was waiting for his chance to cook for her just as she had done for him the night before.

"Heeeey Tatsu-kun!" Sanosuke said as he and the other three walked over to Tatsunosuke. "We saw you outside last night with Din-chan! What were you two doin' out there?"

"Nothing." Tatsunosuke looked away and went back to his work. "We were just talking and we fell asleep."

"Holding hands?" Heisuke teased.

A blush covered Tatsunosuke's face once more. He coughed and stood up, placing his writing tools down.

"Please excuse me, I have to meet Din-chan in the kitchen," he said, not bothering to face the three.

"Have fun!" Shinpachi called as he began to walk away.

The three watched Tatsunosuke walk away and turn towards the kitchen. Sanosuke sighed, causing the other two to turn around and look at him.

"What?" Shinpachi asked.

"I was just thinking," Sanosuke began, "what if Tatsu-kun does end up liking Din-chan and she likes him and they start bein' together? I mean, what will the demon commander think?"

"Who cares?" Shinpachi laughed. "Remember he's the one said that he didn't have anymore attachments to her."

"I guess you're right." Sanosuke moved his hands behind his head and sighed. "It'll still be weird that's all."

Tatsunosuke stood outside of the kitchen and took a deep breath in. He was nervous that something would go wrong and that he would mess everything up for her and him. Then it hit him, why should he care if he messed things up? Would it be because he would embarrass himself? Or was it something else? He thought of a thousand reasons why messing up would be bad for him but none of the reasons sounded like the right thing.

_She's a friend; if I messed up something I'm sure that'd she'd forgive me for it._ He thought, taking breath after breath.

Making fully sure that he was ready, he stepped into the kitchen where Din was putting away that night's dinner leftovers. He stepped walked her and coughed a bit, catching her attention.

"Hey Tatsu-kun, are you ready?"

"Yes." Tatsunosuke nodded.

"Alright then." She smiled and stepped out of his way. "Sorry if I get in your way, I'm cleaning up for tomorrow."

"It's alright." Tatsunosuke walked over to the counter and looked at everything that had been placed out. He figured that he was going to make rice pudding, it was easy and quick enough for him and he was sure he could make it without messing up.

Taking another large breath in, he grabbed a nearby utensil and began to piece everything together carefully to make sure everything would turn out all right.

Moments flew by Tatsunosuke as he stood cooking for the woman who had requested it to pay his earlier debt. He cooked and made sure that everything that went into the pudding was the right ingredient and the right amount.

_Everything is going good so far._ Tatsunosuke thought.

He placed the pot down and poured the small amount of food into one bowl. Hoping everything was fine; he called Din in and prayed.

"I'm looking forward to it." Din smiled, taking the bowl. "Thanks Tatsu-kun. Aren't you going to eat some of it?"

"No." Tatsunosuke shook his head. "I'm not that hungry."

"At least _try_ the food you made." Din laughed playfully. She grabbed a nearby pair of chopsticks and handed them to him. "Come on."

Giving in, he grabbed the chopsticks and carefully grabbed some of the food, Din doing the same. They brought the food back to their mouths and began eating only to taste that there _was_ something wrong with the food.

Tatsunosuke took the chopsticks out of his mouth and cringed. Remembering that someone else was now eating the food, he looked over towards her to see her eating it as if nothing was wrong.

"Din-chan…" He blinked and then bowed. "I'm so sorry! The food is a disgrace!"

Din looked back at him and blinked. "What are you talking about? This food tastes perfectly fine!"

"What?"

"It's fine." She smiled and then continued eating.

Tatsunosuke stood there in disbelief as he watched her finished the entire meal. When she finished, she placed the bowl down onto the counter and smiled once more back towards the dark red head.

"Thanks a lot Tatsu-kun, I really enjoyed the meal," she said.

"Really?!"

"Really." She bowed. "Now please excuse me for the night, I have a meeting to attend in Hijikata's room."

"Oh, good night." Tatsunosuke stepped out of her way.

He stood there and watched her walk away, wondering if she did think his cooking was good. Granted that something had gone wrong this time, he was usually such a good cook and wanted her to see that for some reason but she seemed to even like his _bad_ cooking.

_Maybe_, He began to think, _she just didn't want to hurt my feelings but…_

A blush crossed his face. He knew the food was bad so she _had_ to know that the food was bad but she had eaten it regardless. She must have cared enough not to hurt his feelings so she ate it, causing herself bad taste just to make him happy.

Tatsunosuke felt something inside of him that he had never felt before coming from the center of his chest. Not knowing what to do, he quickly stepped out of the kitchen and slipped into his nemaki and tried to fall asleep, the blush still on his face.

* * *

R&R please! 


	11. Words

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thank you so much for all of your reviews! They make me think this story is worth keeping up with! Much love to all of you!

Enjoy:

* * *

"Ayumu-san has been gone for about four days now, I hope she's okay," Souji said as he looked towards the three older men in the room, Hijikata, Yamanami, and Kondo. 

"When a week passes I'll be worried," Kondo confessed with a sigh. "But until then she's a spy and she should be able to take care of herself."

The door slid open, catching everyone's attention, and Din stepped in, closing the door behind herself. Bending over, she held her stomach and wobbled over towards Hijikata.

"Din-nee you're so pale! Are you okay?" Souji asked as he began to stand up.

"It's okay." Din moved her right hand down to tell Souji to sit. "Hijikata, do you have any kind of medicine to mask nausea for a while?"

Hijikata stood up and grabbed her shoulder to keep her from falling over. Sighing, he carefully moved her until she was sitting down against the wall.

"I'll be back in a minute with the medicine," he spoke, and then exited the room.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Souji asked, moving forward towards her.

"No." Din tightened her face as the feeling of throwing up came to her once more. "I'll be okay in a minute."

Within a few minutes Hijikata entered the room once more with a small cup in his right hand. He bent down to her level and handed her the cup. She took it and quickly drank it, hoping it would rid her of the feeling.

Hijikata moved his hand up towards Din and felt her forehead. "You don't have a fever."

She took in a quick breath. "I've just got an upset stomach that's all, I should be fine now."

Hijikata stood up and walked to a spot beside Din and sat down. Sighing, he began talking to the other three once more, looking back towards Din once in a while to make sure she was okay.

"So Din-chan what made you sick?" Kondo asked he too worried about the young woman.

She managed a smile. "I just ate something that's all."

As Din looked around the room, talking to everyone in the room, she spotted an uneaten bowl of the food she had made that night for dinner. Twitching she realized that it was closest to Hijikata so it had to belong to him.

"Hijikata, thanks for the medicine but why aren't you eating?" she asked, looking at him with her right eyebrow raised.

He rolled his eyes. "You're the one that told me why I wouldn't eat it and it's true."

"What?" She blinked. "Because my cooking hasn't changed? Well you seemed to like it when you were sending people to _my_ bakery to get the bread I used to make it."

He twitched. "Too much of a good thing is bad for you."

She puffed up her cheeks and looked away. "Please tell me that _you're_ eating Yamanami-san."

He sat up a bit more. "Well," he pushed his glasses up, "not that much to tell the truth."

"What?" She sat up immediately. "And why the hell not?"

Yamanami looked away from her and the group. "I'm just not that fond of the cooking that's all."

Ignoring the pain in her stomach, Din stood up. "Yamanami-san I have no idea what your problem is but why don't you get some balls and tell me."

Hijikata, Souji, and Kondo jaws dropped as they listened to what the woman had just said and then looked at Yamanami to see what he was going to say in reaction to her.

"Hinto-san, you and I both know the problems we had back when we were younger." Yamanami looked up at with a slight glare in his eyes.

"Why the hell are you still on that?!" she yelled, moving her fists backwards. "Just because I have an "attitude" towards you think that's a good enough reason to bite my head off whenever you get the chance? I think it's time for you to grow up Yamanami-san! Everyone else around you has!"

"Don't tell me _I'm_ the one that hasn't grown up." Yamanami closed his eyes.

"Oh." She laughed and crossed her arms. "And _you've_ grown up? You think you're so damn lonely in this world because no one in the Shinsengumi "understands" you. But wait, there is _someone_ you think "understands" you and that's that little whore of yours down at Shimabara."

Yamanami twitched at that comment, it hitting him deeply. She had touched something inside of him that no one else knew about or that he would always keep in private. She had attacked his private life, and now he only felt it was right if he did the same. Not caring about holding back any longer now that he felt that he had been so insulted, he let everything go.

"I won't talk about whores if I were you." Yamanami started, "I think you should keep your mouth and legs shut and do us all a favor."

Din's mouth dropped. "What?" she asked breathlessly.

"Sannan!" Kondo said in surprise.

"After all I've seen you around Tatsu-kun a lot more then before," Yamanami finished a part of him feeling bad while the other part felt justified.

"Yamanami!" Hijikata hissed, tired of hearing what his fellow vice commander was saying.

Din uncrossed her arms. "If you must know, the only man I've ever slept with is sitting in this room. So I highly doubt that makes me in the same league as your Shimabara whore."

"Din!" Hijikata yelled. He stood up and grabbed her right arm. "Come outside NOW."

He walked towards the backdoor with Din's arm tightly gripped within his right hand. He pulled her until they both exited the room, and he slammed the door behind them.

The room Hijikata and Din had just left from remained quiet. Two people there who sat taking in what they had just heard turned towards Kondo who sighed and put his head down.

"Was that supposed to be a secret?" Souji asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes," Kondo confessed.

"Hijikata-kun and Hinto-san…" Yamanami sighed. "I had no idea that they had slept together."

"Yes and that's the way they wanted it. I only found out about it because I caught them in the act." Kondo get go of a small laugh. "It was in the middle of their first year together and I had left them alone for the day to run errands while Souji-kun was being watched by the trio. You, Sannan, had just dropped me off and I was going inside when I heard them outside."

"Outside?" Souji giggled.

"I thought it was strange too but it was because Din-chan was getting ready to leave for the day and Toshi-kun didn't want to let her go," Kondo continued. "I came around the corner and caught them together and I knew that Toshi-kun had caught me but I left anyway. Later he came in and asked me not to tell anyone and that he should and would hide it better after that. I stopped monitoring them after that when it came to that subject but I knew that they were frequent lovers."

"We're lucky she didn't get pregnant," Yamanami interjected.

Kondo sighed heavily this time. "Din-chan can't get pregnant. She's got a medical condition that prevents her from having them that she learned about in her early teens before she met Toshi-kun."

Yamanami looked away. "How many more secrets do those two have?"

"Kondo-sama, may I ask something?" Souji asked, looking at his elder.

"Yes go ahead."

"Do you know if Din-nee gave Hijikata-sama her virginity?"

Kondo moved his hands to his lap and fumbled them around a bit. "As far as I know Souji-kun, yes she did. Toshi-kun did the same. Why?"

"It's just that," Souji looked towards the door the two had left from, "you never forget someone like that."

* * *

Hijikata in the meantime dragged Din towards the middle of the backyard so no one near the house or street would be able to hear their conversation. Releasing her arm, she pulled away from him and crossed her arms. 

"What the hell was that?" Hijikata hissed. "You know that something like that was to remain a secret."

Din shook her head. "He basically called me a whore dammit and all _you_ care about is how I blew our secret. They were gonna figure it out anyway Hijikata!"

"How?"

"Because they always do!" she hissed back. "Why the hell couldn't you defend me in there?"

"It didn't look like you needed any help." Hijikata crossed his arms.

"Hijikata!" she yelled.

"What?"

Their eyes met for a moment but his eyes moved away first seeing that he had hurt her. Not wanting to admit it, he turned away from her, making her even angrier.

"Fine," she hissed, back in her cold tone. "Screw you then Hijikata, don't bother to talk to me or eat my food anymore, you and that bastard in there can fend for yourselves."

He heard her footsteps as she stepped away from him and sighed. He turned back around to say something only to see that she was no longer there. Figuring she had gone out on a walk, he walked back into his own room.

* * *

_This is the Shinsengumi._ Suzu thought as he stood outside of the Shinsengumi walls. He blinked as he looked up at them and remembered what his master had told him to do. 

_"Stand and wait for Din Hinto, she comes out for walks during the middle of the night or during early morning."_

_I guess this is where I stand and wait._ He thought, still looking around.

The sound of shoes hitting the floor caught his attention and caused him to look to his right where he saw a woman walking towards him. He blinked; not believing whom it was for a moment and released the sword handle he had grabbed so quickly.

_Setsuna-san…_ He thought as the woman came closer. _How could she be here?_

The woman got closer, and Suzu shook his head back and forth, it wasn't the person he had thought it was, instead it was another woman that looked very much like her in almost very way.

"Excuse me," Suzu walked towards the women, "Din Hinto?"

"Yes," she answered, uncrossing her arms. "What can I help you with?"

"Yoshida-sama wishes to speak with you face-to-face without any weapons or interruptions this time. It's about Setsuna-san," Suzu finished.

"And you are?"

"Yoshida-sama's page." He bowed. "I've been ordered to bring you back to him and give you this message."

Din twitched. Stay or go with the small boy. She thought of how leaving would effect the Shinsengumi but who cared? They weren't going to eat her food or talk to her so she might as well go with someone who would know something about the passing of her sister. Beside that, she had something to see away from the Shinsengumi in the first place, she had to go down the pier and wait just as she did every morning.

"I'll go with you." Din nodded, figuring out what she wanted to do. "But do me a favor first."

"Yes?"

"Tell me your name."

"Kitamura Suzu," he answered.

"Kitamura-kun, you've got really pretty eyes." Din smiled.

Suzu blushed. There was only one person who had ever told him that besides her and it was the woman who Din looked like, Setsuna, who was now gone. He shook his head, trying to get the thought out of his head.

"Please come this way Hinto-san." Suzu turned his back to her and began to lead her down the street.

Not bothering to look back towards the Shinsengumi, Din took a step forward and then another until she was steadily following behind the white haired child and could no longer see the Shinsengumi headquarters.

* * *

Din followed Suzu until they reached another large dojo. Suzu walked her inside and walked her passed all of the sleeping men and into the main room where Yoshida sat, waiting. 

"Hinto-san has arrived." Suzu bowed as Din walked forward and sat down in front of Yoshida.

"Hello Din-san," Yoshida began. He looked up towards his page. "Go get us some tea Suzu-kun."

"Yes Yoshida-sama."

Suzu left the room and quietly closed the door behind himself. Din moved around a bit, and then looked up towards the other man. It was strange how much he looked like Hijikata with the way his hair was but he was much thinner in body structure.

"Setsuna-chan looked very much like you," Yoshida spoke. "I knew you two were related when I first saw you standing around your bakery."

"How do you know my sister?" Din answered with her cold tone.

"Yoshida Shouin, my late master, adopted her to become a caretaker for the Choshu," Yoshida began. "It was her sixteenth birthday when she came to the headquarters where my master lived; I was nineteen at the time. You've been kept in the dark about everything involving Setsuna-chan, haven't you?"

"How did she die?" Din hissed, glaring towards Yoshida.

Suzu came back into the room and set the tea down in front of his master. Yoshida ignored Din's question leaned forward and began to drink from a cup.

He slowly took the cup away from his mouth. "The grave you visited is not one where she is truly buried."

"Where is she?"

"It's a two day trip but I will be willing to make that trip with you." Yoshida looked down towards his cup. "It's been a while since I've paid my respects to her."

"Why is the grave here then?" Din watched as Suzu moved a cup towards her while she spoke. "And why was she placed in a different area?"

"When she and I married she gained my last name," Yoshida answered, still looking down towards his cup. "We couldn't risk her body being disgraced for deeds my master and I have committed. To please the orphanage, we placed an empty grave here and another one where her real body is in a secret place."

"M-Married?" Din twitched as he eyes grew. "_You_ married my sister?"

"Now that you know I have a few questions to ask you." Yoshida looked up towards her with the hint of a smile on his face. "What connects do you have with the Shinsengumi?"

"They're housing me," Din answered. "As you know my business where I was living at the time has burned down. Because they are a police unit I was told to stay there until I found a new home."

"So you don't have any deeper of a connection with them?"

"No." She shook her head.

She had to lie. If he found out about her relationships with the Shinsengumi he might take her hostage and try to bring down the Shinsengumi. She would keep her mouth shut about everything even though he was talking to her about something so personal.

"Please," Din moved forward a bit, "were you able to have children with my sister?"

Yoshida shook his head. "We discovered that she couldn't have children."

"Dammit." Din looked away. "When are we leaving to go see my sister?"

"We'll leave when the sun rises," Yoshida answered. "We will return in two or three days and then you can go back to what you were doing before."

"Why are you doing this?" Din asked, moving forward once more. "You're the leader of the Choshu clan, I've heard so much about you and none of it has been good. Why are you showing such hospitality to me?"

Yoshida smiled and laughed a bit. "Setsuna-chan talked about you a lot. I promised her that if anything happened to her, I would find you, and ask you to join the Choshu for protection. But seeing that you're with the Shinsengumi, you don't need _my_ protection. I'm doing this for Setsuna-chan against my better judgment."

Din bowed down. "Thank you. I just want to know more about my sister and you've done that but please, just tell me how she died."

"Suzu-kun," Yoshida turned towards him, "please leave."

Suzu lowered his head. "Yes Yoshida-sama."

Standing up, Suzu exited the room and shut the door behind himself. Somewhat thinking that something was wrong, Din sat back up and looked over towards the younger man.

"Three years ago there was an assassination attempt for my head," Yoshida began. "She knew it was coming, and got Suzu-kun and I to leave. She took the killing for me. I don't know who tired to do it, there are many groups out there who want me dead so I have no leads."

Din took a quick breath in. Setsuna had given herself up for the man she loved, and the boy she took care of. She died a way Din was afraid to, and most likely didn't want it any other way.

"Where can I sleep?" Din asked, looking away. She wanted to get off of this subject now, if she didn't she was going to lose everything and start crying.

"There's an empty room down the hall," Yoshida answered, closing his eyes. "I'll wake you up when the sun rises."

Din stood up and bowed once more. "There's no way I could ever thank you for everything you've done."

"Just go to bed."

Walking towards the door, Din stopped for a moment. She was here with the enemy Hijikata and the others were sworn to kill. This was the enemy, the man who lit fires and was trying to over throw the government the best he could. She had so many ties to him that she knew nothing about, and it was almost creepy. Was she betraying Hijikata by staying here? Was it betraying Hijikata if she went with him to see her sister's grave?

Why should I care? She thought as she opened the door. He doesn't have to know what I'm doing. Besides, I doubt he cares.

Din walked out of Yoshida's room, and began walking towards her own when she spotted Ayumu walking down the same hallway.

_"Act as if I'm no one to you or they'll get suspicious."_

Taking in a deep breath, she began to step forward and the two walked passed one another as if they didn't matter or exist before in emotions. Each of them released a small breath of air, telling each other quietly that they had missed one another and that they were all right. It was small, but it mattered more to them then anything else in the world during that moment.

* * *

R&R please! 


	12. Speak

I don't own Peacemaker or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thanks for the reviews! I love reading them!

Enjoy!

* * *

The sun had now risen high into the sky, and Din and Yoshida had already left with the company of Suzu. Back at the Shinsengumi, Shinpachi was in the kitchen, cooking with the company of yelling and cursing about how this wasn't why he joined the Shinsengumi. Back in Hijikata's room, he and Kondo sat, talking as usual when Souji ran in.

"Hijikata-sama!" Souji spoke as he opened the door. "I've looked everywhere, I can't find Din-nee! I even looked at the market and she's not there!"

"Dammit are you sure?" Hijikata stood up.

"I've looked everywhere!" Souji insisted. "No one in town has seen her or anything! Hijikata-sama I'm worried."

"Maybe she left after the argument," Kondo whispered to himself but nonetheless the demon caught it.

Hijikata grabbed his sword and placed it on his hip. "No one is to know about this. I'm going out to look for her; no one is to follow me."

"Toshi-kun, be gentle on her when you find her," Kondo warned.

Hijikata ignored his request and stepped out of his room without saying another word. Once Kondo figured that Hijikata was out of earshot, he looked over towards Souji and sighed.

"Do you think he'll find her?" Kondo asked. "What Sannan said seemed to hurt her greatly."

"She won't admit that she's upset." Souji sat down. "And getting mad at Hijikata-sama doesn't make her feel any better. I honestly don't know if she'll come back."

Hijikata had searched all around Kyoto and hadn't found Din or anyone who had seen her. Discouraged and now a bit more considered, Hijikata returned to the Shinsengumi where he walked back into Kondo's room and sat down next to Souji.

"So?" Souji began.

"I couldn't find her," Hijikata said. "No one around town as seen her either, just as you said Souji-kun."

"Hijikata-sama?" Souji moved around a bit. "We're not going to make Din-chan commit Seppuku are you?"

Hijikata looked over towards Kondo who looked away, then looked back over towards Souji. Souji's eyes widened then grew back to normal as he looked up at Hijikata with questions running through his eyes.

"No," Kondo interjected. "She is not considered a part of the Shinsengumi, she is just a cook."

"So is Ayu-san but she's off fighting for us," Hijikata cut in.

"Ayu-san came to us as a spy," Kondo answered quickly. "If anything we're protecting her from the Choshu, she is not in the Shinsengumi."

"She's coming back," Souji insisted. "She wouldn't leave her belongings here unless she was coming back right?"

"Right." Kondo nodded. "Souji-kun, if Din-chan hasn't returned in two days, I want you to go and look for her."

"Yes sir." Souji bowed.

* * *

Sanosuke, Shinpachi, and Heisuke were sitting on the wooden floor outside of Tatsunosuke's open door where he sat working. They were bored and had come to bother Tetsunosuke only to discover that the smaller one had been sent out with Yamanami to do shopping.

"So bored!" Heisuke whined.

"I know." Shinpachi sighed. "There's nothing to do around here when puppy-kun is gone."

"Hey," Heisuke looked over towards Sanosuke, "I just remembered what I was gonna ask you earlier, where did you and Din-chan go the other day?"

Sanosuke looked away, sticking his nose in the air. "None of your business!"

"Come on!" Shinpachi laughed. "You can tell us anything!"

"I'm not telling!" Sanosuke said his nose still in the air. "I promised Din-chan I wouldn't tell anybody what we talked about!"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you told us!" Shinpachi moved closer towards the taller man with Heisuke.

"I ain't talkin'!" Sanosuke stood up and began to walk away only to have the other two begin to chase him around the backyard, demanding for him to tell them whatever it was.

* * *

_Din-chan._ Tatsunosuke thought, looking away from his work. _I haven't seen you all day… Realizing what he had just thought, he shook his head back and forth. What am I doing? I should get back to work._

"Tatsu-kun."

Tatsunosuke looked up from his work to see Hijikata looking down at him with his pipe burning away in his mouth. Tatsunosuke placed his work down and paid full attention to vice commander.

"You wouldn't know anything about where Din could be do you?" Hijikata asked coldly.

"No sir." Tatsunosuke shook his head back and forth. "I haven't heard anything from her for almost a day now."

"Hm." Hijikata looked away. "Tatsu-kun, if you hear anything from Din, you are to report it to me word-for-word. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Tatsunosuke answered. "May I ask a question Hijikata-sama?"

"What?" Hijikata raised his right eyebrow.

"Nothing is wrong with Din-chan right?" A slight blush crossed his face. "There's no trouble with her is there?"

Hijikata sighed. "No, I just wanted to know if you had seen her."

"Okay." Tatsunosuke smiled. "Thank you Hijikata-sama."

* * *

The rain had come quickly. The rain fell heavily onto the ground and prevented the Shinsengumi from doing much. Most of them stayed inside, watching the rain, or went and trained out of boredom.

"They've both been gone too long," Kondo spoke to Hijikata who was sitting across from him and looking out towards the rain. "Ayu-san and Din-chan have been gone too long."

"Ayu-san," Hijikata sighed, "we haven't had contact with her for over six days."

Kondo looked towards the window. "I know. I've had Sanosuke-kun and Shinpachi-kun dispatched to see if they can find out anything about her."

"Are they in uniform?"

"No." Kondo shook his head back and forth. "I didn't want to cause alarm."

Hijikata lit his pipe and began smoking from it. Kondo took in a large breath, and looked towards Hijikata; ready to ask a question he had wanted to ask him.

"If Din-chan never comes back," Kondo began, "what will you do?"

Hijikata released a puff of smoke. "Nothing. I left her, so maybe this time she's left me behind."

Kondo remained quiet. He knew there was nothing he could do to make Hijikata see what he could see so easy and figured that everything would be revealed to him in time. Trying to get off of the subject, he brought up a new one.

"Have you talked to Sannan lately?"

"No," Hijikata answered bluntly.

Kondo blinked. "Why not?"

Hijikata shrugged, and Kondo finally understood. Hijikata blamed Yamanami for Din's leaving, and that's why Hijikata hadn't been talking to the other man. So, Hijikata had to care somewhere inside that Din was now gone. Realizing this, Kondo smiled and began talking about something else; happy that he now understood what the demon was thinking.

* * *

Hijikata sat down in front of his small desk, writing with a pipe in his mouth. He was waiting for Tetsunosuke to come back with the tea he had ordered and it was taking a bit longer then usual.

"Hijikata-sama!" Tetsunosuke said, walking into the room with tea in his hands. "I got the tea you asked for!"

"Just drop it off right there." Hijikata pointed to the corner of the room.

Tetsunosuke did as told. Dropping the tea off, he sighed and looked over towards Hijikata fighting with himself whether to ask the question he was thinking of or not.

Hijikata noticed his lingering. "What?"

"Uh," Tetsunosuke looked around, "I was wondering, have you seen Din-chan around?"

"Why?"

"Tatsu-nii was askin' me if I had seen her so I was wondering if _you_ knew where she was," Tetsunosuke asked.

"She's out doing something right now," Hijikata answered. He twitched thinking that Tatsunosuke was pondering about Din.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"What?" Hijikata asked with an irritated tone.

Tetsunosuke sighed. "The other day I saw Din-chan sniffing one of your kimonos. I was wondering…what that meant."

Hijikata blinked and then looked away. "Nothing, just get out of here you brat."

Tetsunosuke puffed up his cheeks. "Fine."

Angry that he didn't get his answer, Tetsunosuke stomped out of the room leaving Hijikata alone with what he had just said.

_Smelling my kimono._ Hijikata thought. He ran his fingers through his hair and tugged on it as he thought of her missing him. _She shouldn't care anymore. She just shouldn't. She told me dammit._

* * *

Another day had passed. Neither Din nor Ayumu was back at the Shinsengumi, and now Hijikata, Kondo, and Yamanami had sent out a few of the unit captains to find them. Souji had been sent out to just find Din, while Sanosuke and Shinpachi went out to search for Ayumu.

Tetsunosuke had been left at home, and now was looking around for Susumu to talk to him about Ayumu.

"Aren't you worried about her?" Tetsunosuke asked, once he had found Susumu.

"About who?" Susumu asked coldly.

"Ayu-nee!" Tetsunosuke answered, gripping his fists. "She's your sister! Aren't you worried about her?"

Susumu walked over towards Tetsunosuke, and wrapped his hands around the smaller one's neck. Tetsunosuke whimpered a bit, as Susumu slowly picked him up off of the ground, choking him even more.

"You have no idea what you're gettin' into." Susumu growled.

Tetsunosuke winched as Susumu's grip became tighter. "There's a woman's body in the rain. What if it's Ayu-nee's? What are you going to do?"

Susumu's grip on Tetsunosuke's neck lessened, and the red head landed on the floor on his feet. Susumu quickly turned away and began to walk away from the smaller one, not saying another word.

"Hey!" Tetsunosuke called. Susumu ignored him. "HEY!"

Annoyed that the older man was no longer paying attention to him on such an important matter, he ran over to him, grabbed him and threw him as hard as he could towards the back doors of the dojo they had been in. Susumu fell out of the doors, landing on the cold, wet ground outside, and Tetsunosuke, wanting to get his point across, ran out, and jumped on top of him.

"She asked me," Tetsunosuke began as tears fell down his face, "to take care of you!! She asked me to teach you things!!"

Susumu's eyes widened. Why would Ayumu ask something of someone so small? Why would she ask for something like that for him? He who did not acknowledge her as his older sister, he who did not speak to for weeks on weeks, _he_ who caused such a mess up of the job _she _was supposed to do.

"You don't…," Tetsunosuke whimpered, "deserve to call her your sister."

Susumu pushed Tetsunosuke off, and stood up slowly. Tetsunosuke began to cry once more, allowing Susumu to walk away with a slight jump in his step.

* * *

"Din-chan!!" Souji called as he walked through the rain. "Din-chan!!"

He had been out for two hours while Sanosuke and Shinpachi ran out looking for Ayumu. Alone so that Din's missing wouldn't be known to the others of the Shinsengumi, Souji carried an umbrella over his head and tried to look inconspicuous.

"Din-chan!" he called with a sigh.

_Where are you Din-nee?_ He wondered. Please be okay.

Since Din had just discovered her sister's death, Souji stopped calling her Din-nee for fear of making her think about the other person who called her that.

Souji walked a bit more, and then stopped. He thought of going back to the dojo to help the others with searching for Ayumu but then he remembered how Kondo asked him to look for her after Hijikata had told him to give up. Kondo figured that Hijikata had come to terms with the fact that Din could have left and might never come back and now Hijikata, not wanting to be hurt, put up a fence and said that he didn't want her back. Kondo, though, didn't want to give up looking for her, and missed her.

Suddenly, the sound of someone else walking towards Souji caused him to look up. Din was walking towards him, looking downwards and without an umbrella.

"Din-chan!!" Souji called out as he began to run towards her. "Din-chan!"

Souji caught up to her, and gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Her kimono felt as if it had been completely soaked through and was cold. Ignoring it, he moved closer towards her, shaking her shoulder.

"Din-chan!" he called once more.

"Ayu-chan," Din whispered. "Please find Ayu-chan…Please."

"We need to get you home!" Souji said. "Come on Din-chan, we need to get back to the Shinsengumi!"

"I-I can't go back," Din whispered. She stepped away from Souji and began to slowly walk forward.

Souji twitched. "Din-chan please," He grabbed her shoulder, stopping her, "Hijikata-sama may not act like it but…I know he misses you. He wants you to come back to the dojo, please."

Din whispered, making it so that Souji couldn't understand them. He stood there, waiting to see what she was going to do, and she finally took another step forward, as if she were going to keep walking.

"Din-nee," Souji whispered.

Those words ran through Din, triggering memories and emotions all at once. Unable to take them all together, her eyes closed, and she began to fall over causing Souji to run to her front and hold her up.

"Din-chan."

Souji sighed, and moved Din so that her left arm wrapped around his neck, and began carrying her home until Sanosuke caught the two, and picked up Din. He promised to take her home, and ran off with her, allowing Souji to look for Ayumu.

* * *

Her body was heavy. Susumu trucked through the streets with his sister on his back, thinking that maybe if he got her back to the Shinsengumi, they could do something for her. He shook his head, he knew she was dead; it was a stupid idea.

"_It should have been you that died. You don't deserve to be called a ninja."_

Susumu knew that _he_ should have died. He should have taken the punishment for getting caught, not Ayumu. Thinking that all of his thoughts were just getting in the way and distracting him from walking, he pushed all of his thoughts to the side and kept walking forward.

* * *

Everyone stood outside as Susumu carried Ayumu in. No one said anything, or looked away as he walked by everyone, and carried her into her room. Hijikata was the first to look away, and the first to speak.

"Dammit," he hissed. "Harada-san, Nagakura-san, go out and look for Din, I don't want any more deaths."

"Look for her?" Shinpachi asked, stepping up. "I didn't know she was gone."

Sanosuke sighed. "But Hijikata-sama, I—"

"Don't ask questions!" Hijikata yelled over the rain.

"Hijikata-sama!" Souji called as he ran passed the crowd. "Hijikata-sama!"

"What?"

"Sanosuke-kun and I brought Din-nee home an hour ago!" Souji confessed. "Kondo-sama told me to go and find her."

"Damn."

Hijikata turned around and walked through the group of warriors. Walking quickly, he entered the dojo once more and saw Kondo standing in front of his own door, looking down.

"Where is she?" Hijikata asked once he walked over to him.

"In Souji's room," Kondo answered. "Toshi-kun, there's something wrong with her."

Hijikata moved away from Kondo, and began to walk down the hallway, slowly at first, then picking up speed. A noise began to echo through the hallway, a noise that Hijikata knew too well. Running now he stopped in front of Souji's room and froze.

She was coughing.

"_Don't open the door!! Don't come in here!"_

Hijikata felt all of his nightmares catch up with him and hit him full on. He remembered things from his childhood, and slightly shivered as they played in his mind like old movies. Hearing her cough once more forced him to remember that now was different, and gathering his courage, he opened the door and stepped inside.

She was sitting up, her hair down, and wearing her nemaki with her hand covering her mouth as she coughed.

"Din."

She looked up at him and began coughing once more. This coughing took a lot out of her, and she fell over only to continue coughing.

"Din!"

Hijikata walked into the room and pulled Din back so she rested against his chest. He brought his hand to her forehead and felt that it was warmer then usual.

"Ayu-chan," Din managed to say between coughs. "Y-You—"

"We've already found her," Hijikata confessed, holding Din tightly.

"And?" Din perked up, her coughing finally coming to a stop.

Hijikata looked away. "She's gone."

Din's eyes began to water as she looked up at Hijikata, she began to cry but instead of simply crying, the coughing kicked in once more. Hijikata sighed and held her a bit closer, waiting for the coughing to stop by relaxing her.

"Din-chan?"

Hijikata looked up and saw Tatsunosuke standing in the open doorway with a look of concern on his face. Noticing where he was, Hijikata released Din, causing her to catch herself and allowing Hijikata to get up.

"You are not to tell anyone about this," Hijikata hissed, his right hand grabbing the edge of the door. "Understood?"

"Yes sir." Tatsunosuke bowed.

Hijikata pulled the door, and slammed it shut. Tatsunosuke stood there, wondering what he had just seen. Din, the woman he hadn't seen in three days was in a room he walked by everyday coughing with the demon vice commander. He stood there in thought but then heard the noises of the people running in and out of the Shinsengumi's headquarters yelling and talking. Wondering what was going on and if Tetsunosuke had anything to do with it, he walked away from the door, trying to forget what he had just seen.

* * *

R&R please! 


	13. Revealing

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Enjoy and thank you for all of your comments!

* * *

Din, Yoshida, and Suzu walked down a rainy street with Suzu holding an umbrella over Din's head and Yoshida holding his own umbrella. Suddenly, Yoshida stopped waking, causing everyone else to stop walking.

"Din-san," Yoshida began. "I have some bad news for you."

Din turned to him. "What?"

"Your friend, Ayumu-san has been killed."

Din's mouth opened, and her eyes grew wide. She backed away from the taller man until she stood out in the rain.

"You did it didn't you?" she asked while her trembling hand moved down towards her waist. "You ordered it didn't you!!?"

Yoshida shook his head. "No. I didn't find out until a few moments ago. Now Din-san I have something to propose to you. I want you to join the Choshu, there is someone you hold very deeply that is associated with us, and I would hate for something bad to happen to him."

Din fell to her knees, tears instantly falling from her face. The rain fell onto her, starting to soak through all of her clothes and make them cling to her body along with her hair. She began to shake as she looked up towards Yoshida who looked so coldly back towards her.

"Setsuna-chan wanted me to have you join the Choshu once I found you, and soon all of the Shinsengumi will fall and I don't want you to die along with the Shinsengumi," Yoshida said glaring towards Din. "I _will_ keep my promise."

"You can't…you can't do this!" Din protested. "Please just leave—"

"I can do whatever I please," Yoshida interjected. "The Shinsengumi is looking to destroy me and as soon as they find out that you were with me for these past three days did you honestly think that they would take you back so easily? They're most likely torture you until you confess and then cut your stomach."

"Fine I don't care!" Din yelled over the rain. "Just don't hurt _him_."

Suzu looked up towards Yoshida and tugged on his kimono. "Yoshida-sama, I think we need to get going. The Shinsengumi might find her body soon."

Yoshida turned away, and began to walk away. "I will come back to find you before the fall of the Shinsengumi."

Din stood up and began running. She ignored everything Yoshida had said as he walked away, thinking that she had to get home in order to try and save Ayumu. She ran as fast as she could, hoping that she would be fast enough.

As Yoshida walked away, Suzu turned around and watched Din run away from them. There, he promised himself that he would find Din once more, because that's what his master, and Setsuna wanted more then anything.

* * *

"…in!! Din!"

Din opened her eyes from her dream and saw Hijikata sitting over her with a smug look on his face. She sat up quickly and looked around the room making him move her so she was in his arms instead.

"Ayu-chan, is she really dead?" She grabbed Hijikata's kimono and tugged on it. "Is she?"

Hijikata looked away. "Her funeral is going on as we speak. But that's not why I'm here to talk to you."

Din covered her mouth as she began to cry. She pushed away from Hijikata, and fell against the wall behind her. She had been too late. Yoshida had gone through what he said he was going to so coldly and Din failed to try and protect her. Ayumu was dead and there was so much, in her own mind, that she could have done differently.

"Where have you been for the past three days?" Hijikata asked firmly.

_Ayu-chan._ Din thought, ignoring Hijikata's question. _Ayu-chan is gone. It's my fault…if I had stayed behind she wouldn't have gotten hurt. Goddammit!_

"Where were you?" Hijikata asked moving up towards her face.

_I can't tell him_. She grabbed the side of her head._ I can't, if I do then something will go wrong_.

"Where!" he yelled.

She twitched, hating to have him in her face. "Nowhere!" she yelled back. "Where I go is none of your damn business! I'm leaving."

Hijikata grabbed her right wrist. "You're not going anywhere. Tell me where the hell you've been for the past three days!!"

Din pulled her wrist back. "None of your Goddamn business! I left because of you and Yamanami-san so just shut the hell up and leave me alone!"

"Because of me?" Hijikata asked. "What the hell did I do to make you want to leave so badly?"

Din laughed sarcastically. "You didn't defend me at all when Yamanami-san was calling me a whore! You only care about yourself Hijikata!"

"So?"

"So!?" Din's mouth dropped. "What the hell do you mean "so"?"

"Why do _you_ care that I care only about myself?" Hijikata laughed and sat back. "What do you have to lose by my caring for myself?"

Din looked away. "Because."

"Because why?"

This was it. She couldn't hold in what had been bothering her and what she had realized the first time they had met again. She took in a deep breath, as she got ready to say it, causing Hijikata to look at her strangely.

"Because I still love you," she blurted out.

Hijikata was taken back by that. He released Din and moved backwards, unable to think of what to say back to her. He didn't think that she still loved him; he thought that she hated him, and if she didn't, she was putting on a very well thought through act.

"_I know you do and…a part of me hates you." _

Remembering Ayumu, he stood up. "Don't say such foolish things. I'm going to the funeral. You had a fever earlier so I want you to stay in bed." He walked over towards the back door. "When I return I want you to tell me where you were."

He had too much on his mind to worry about Din. He would settle everything later, when he would be able to sit down and think things out but right now, Ayu had earned and deserved his full attention.

* * *

Hijikata walked into the room where Ayumu's funeral was being held and sat down in an open spot beside Kondo.

"You're late Toshi-kun," Kondo pointed out.

The group grew quiet as they all sat with their heads down, Ayumu's body sitting in the front of them with a white sheet over her face. They were all thinking about her, all wishing they could have done something for her, and hoped that she was happy on the other side.

"We're to move out," Hijikata said bluntly. "We have to arrest Masuya-san before he tries to get away with what he has done."

Hijikata stood up and began to walk out, only to have Souji chase him. Hijikata walked out of the room, mumbling to himself.

"Hijikata-sama!" Souji called.

"We're going to kill that bastard," Hijikata said, still walking.

"Hijikata-sama!"

"Get ready to move out!!"

"Hijikata-SAMA!"

"What?" he hissed, stopping in his footsteps.

"This," Souji began, "isn't your fault."

Those words bounced off of the older man, but still had a slight effect on him. Hearing that someone else didn't think it was his fault even though he was telling himself over and over again that it _was_ his fault, brought some kind of comfort to him.

The anger and accusation inside of him got the better of him, causing him to lift up his left arm. Gathering anger and hate, he punched the wall beside him, and hoped that it would relive him of some of the pain inside. It failed.

* * *

In Hijikata's over lasting absence, Din slipped out of the room she had been placed in, and walked into the room where Ayumu was lying. She walked in, to see that everyone else had left and that there was only a memorial to her now, so she sat down in the middle of the room and bowed.

"Ayu-chan," she whispered. "I cannot apologize enough for what has happened. If I had just stayed behind maybe this wouldn't have happened. Please Ayu-chan, be happy on the other side."

"Din-chan, are you alright?"

Din looked up to see Tatsunosuke standing in the back doorway. He stepped in, sat down beside her and bowed to Ayumu. Silence passed between the two as Tatsunosuke prayed for the woman who had given her life for the place where he and his little brother now lived.

"I wasn't able to pay my respects earlier," Tatsunosuke said as he sat back up. "I'm sorry if interrupted anything."

"Tatsunosuke-kun," Din whimpered, catching his attention quickly. "I…I'm scared."

"Scared?" Tatsunosuke moved closer towards her. "Of what?"

Din moved forward, placing her head with her eyes covered by her hands in to Tatsunosuke's neck. He blushed a bit but the blush soon left as he began to feel tears stain his green kimono. Feeling bad for her, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked gently, much like the way he talked to Tetsunosuke.

"I just feel like something bad is going to happen," she whispered. "I've got this horrible feeling in my gut that something horrible is going to happen here. Please Tatsu-kun; allow me to tell you something. Promise me what I'm going to tell you won't ever be repeated to anyone else."

"Tatsu-kun, if you hear anything from Din, you are to report it to me word-for-word. Do you understand?"

Tatsunosuke remained quiet for a moment, ignoring his willingness just to say yes and move on with the conversation. Would he be betraying Hijikata by listening and then not telling him? He wanted to know what was wrong with Din, he wanted to try and make her stop crying; he wanted to help her.

"I-I promise." Tatsunosuke squeezed her a bit tighter to make sure the world wouldn't fall apart when he said so.

Din pulled away from the younger man and took a quick breath. "Setsuna-chan was with the Choshu. She was _married_ to Yoshida, the man Hijikata is looking for."

Tatsunosuke twitched. Yoshida was the man he had seen at Shimabara that scared Tetsunosuke so much. _Him_, the man who Tetsunosuke thought killed his parents was married to Setsuna, _Din's_ sister? It was just too much of a coincidence to the dark red head.

"Please," Din begged, "don't tell Hijikata _anything_. If he finds out that…my connections with the Choshu he'll kick me out or…force me to commit Seppuku."

"Din-chan." Tatsunosuke reached out and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Don't worry I won't tell Hijikata but please do me one favor in return."

"What?" Din wiped her eyes.

Tatsunosuke blushed. "I was just wondering where you went. You just left without saying anything and I was—we were very concerned about you."

Din let go of a small smile. "I was out, visiting my sister."

* * *

Night had fallen once more, and everyone was preparing for the next morning where they would move out to capture Masuya. Hijikata had his usual guests in his room: Kondo, and Yamanami with Din sleeping in the corner of the room.

"So we're moving out early in the morning," Hijikata finished with a sigh. "We'll try to capture Yoshida while we're at it."

"Sounds like a plan." Kondo leaned against the wall behind him. As he sighed also, his eyes moved over towards Din. "How is she?"

"How the hell would I know?" Hijikata leaned back onto the wall. "She won't talk to me when she's awake at all and other then that she's always sleeping."

"Why?" Yamanami asked.

"She's sick." Hijikata rolled his eyes. "When she came back last night she had a high fever, and couldn't stop coughing. I gave her some medication so she should recover soon."

Kondo shifted around a bit. "Toshi-kun, did she tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Hijikata raised his right eyebrow.

"That…well, that she still loves you?"

Hijikata twitched. "How do you know that?"

"She told me a few days before she left," Kondo confessed. "And dammit I think it's time that you knew so…"

Hijikata looked away. "Yeah she told me."

"She _still_ loves you?" Yamanami asked in surprise as his mouth widened.

"What are you going to do?" Kondo asked even though he had already mentally guessed the answer.

"Nothing." Hijikata shrugged. "Nothing will happen again."

* * *

The next morning, as everyone was getting ready to raid the inn, Tatsunosuke was getting ready to leave and pay respects to his parents. He gathered a small bag full of incense, and began walking out of the Shinsengumi gates when he felt someone grab his right wrist. Turning around, Din was standing behind him with a smile on her face.

"Oh good morning Din-chan," Tatsunosuke said with a smile. "What can I help you with?"

"I was hoping _you_ could help me," Din answered. "I was wondering if I could pay my respects to your Father and Mother along with you this morning. If you want to go alone I understand and I'll go some other time."

Tatsunosuke blinked and thought about it for a moment. "I'd like it if you came with me."

"Thank you." Din walked up beside him.

Walking down the street together, they walked towards a place Tatsunosuke knew too well, and a place Din had been looking for so that she could thank the man who did so much for her when she needed him.

* * *

"Oh dammit!! I can't believe they left so early!!" Tetsunosuke yelled to himself as he ran down the crowded streets and over towards where he knew the raid was going to be.

He didn't know the raid was so early in the morning and hoped that he hadn't slept through it. As he ran, he hoped that Susumu hadn't done anything or killed anyone in his anger. In fact he had been in such a hurry that he had forgotten to put on his proper kimono and was wearing his nemaki.

The inn came closer and closer into view and Tetsunosuke saw the troupes walking away with a few men tied up. Stopping, he stood in front of the inn to catch his breath.

"Dammit! I missed it!" Tetsunosuke cursed.

"You didn't miss anything important."

Tetsunosuke looked towards the inn's door and saw Susumu walking out in his ninja outfit. He perked up a bit and walked towards him.

"What happened?" Tetsunosuke asked.

"We caught a few people but missed Yoshida," Susumu answered, leaning against the wall of the inn.

"Susumu-kun," Tetsunosuke looked away, "you didn't kill anyone did you?"

Susumu looked down towards his red, swelling fist. "I couldn't do it," he answered. "I just couldn't bring myself to kill him, Masuya."

"That's good!"

Susumu looked down towards Tetsunosuke and saw him smiling. He blinked, not understanding why he would be happy that he didn't kill someone but seeing that smile on the smaller ones face caused him to grin a bit.

"Well whatever." Susumu crossed his arms. "Now why don't you run home and change your clothes, what kind of moron runs around in their nightwear?"

Tetsunosuke looked down at what he was wearing and blushed. "Well I was in a hurry to get here!"

"Well hurry up and get home." Susumu jumped upwards, back onto the inn's roof.

"Fine." Tetsunosuke puffed his cheeks up.

Tetsunosuke watched as Susumu ran along the rooftops and disappeared into the shadows just as he always did. Feeling happy that Susumu hadn't killed anyone, he began to walk home.

"Tetsu-kun," a voice whispered.

Tetsunosuke looked around and saw Suzu standing between two buildings with an upset look on his face. Wondering what was wrong and wanting to see his friend, Tetsunosuke walked over towards him.

"What's wrong Suzu-kun?" he asked.

"Just come with me," Suzu requested.

"Sure."

The white haired boy led the red head down a small alleyway, clenching the handle of his sword in his hand and wondering if he could really do what he was about to do.

Suzu led the talking red head to a small, abandoned shack and let him walk forward first. Tetsunosuke kept talking about the last time they had hung out together, and how he wanted to do it again all while Suzu debated within himself.

Kill or not to kill. Tetsunosuke was his friend; Tetsunosuke was a young boy like him, just on the wrong side. His master had _ordered_ him to kill the small boy and orders could not be disobeyed. But this was his friend, a person who made him feel so good when he was around him and made him laugh.

_Kill?_ Suzu thought._ Or not kill? Kill or not to kill?_

"What's wrong Suzu-kun?" Tetsunosuke asked.

Wanting everything to hurry up and happen, Suzu pulled out his sword and slashed quickly, hoping he hit Tetsunosuke, and praying he didn't. When he opened his eyes once more Tetsunosuke was sitting down on the other side of the dirt yard with a look of surprise on his face.

"What…was that for?" Tetsunosuke asked.

Suzu couldn't take this. He fell down to his knees and began to cry only to suddenly feel someone grab him from behind. It was his master, he grabbed him and picked up him by his throat, choking him and teaching him a lesson at the same time.

"Suzu-kun!" Tetsunosuke yelled.

The red head eye's landed on Yoshida causing fear to rise up in him once more. Scared, he turned around and ran into the shack behind him, leaving Suzu. Yoshida dropped his page, and walked over towards the shack.

"Tetsu-kun," Suzu whimpered through his tears.

Yoshida walked over towards the shack and spilled gas onto the floor around the shack and threw the last of it onto the shack. He dropped his pipe onto the floor, igniting the fire and causing it to light up and begin to burn the wooden shack.

Tetsunosuke in the meantime ran until he found a small closet. He opened it, slipped in and closed it, praying that Yoshida wouldn't find him.

* * *

Tatsunosuke and Din bowed down to the two small memorials left for his parents and began to pray. The incense filled the air between them and made the two of them relax as they prayed.

Suddenly, Tatsunosuke felt a pain in his back and a sickening feeling filled his stomach. He groaned and fell over, holding his stomach.

"Tatsu-kun!" Din moved and bent down to him. "Tatsu-kun are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Tetsu-kun," he managed to say. "He's…he's in trouble!"

Din stood up. "I'll go look for him. Is he back at the Shinsengumi?"

Tatsunosuke stood up. "I think he might have gone to that raid."

"Help!! A fire!!" a voice yelled in the distance.

"Shit." Din ran off, Tatsunosuke trailing behind her.

* * *

R&R please! 


	14. Movement

I don't own PMK or anyof it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Enjoy please! Remember to R&R!

* * *

Yoshida walked into the burning shack, searching. He knew the small red head was in the shack; he had nowhere else to run after all. He stepped through the shack slowly while the smell of wood burning filled his nose. A small whimpering noise brought his attention to a small closet. Figuring that Tetsunosuke was in it, he walked over to it and slowly drew it open.

Tetsunosuke couldn't move as the door opened. The fire brought him through all of his old emotions and through all of his old memories. The smell of his parents burning, the smell of the wood, and the _sounds_, all of this just putrefied him.

There he was, Tetsunosuke was sitting there, hardly breathing. Yoshida drew his sword back and was getting ready to push it into the small boy when he felt someone else grab his arm.

"Yoshida-sama!" Suzu begged, holding tight to his master's arm. "Please Yoshida-sama!!"

"Look a fire's broken out!!" someone yelled from outside.

"Someone get some water!!" another person called.

"Damn." Yoshida pulled away from Suzu and ran out of the shack, Suzu following behind him.

* * *

Tatsunosuke and Din ran as fast as they could towards the area where they could see and smell smoke.

"Tatsu-kun! I'll take this way go the other!" Din said as she spotted an alleyway that might lead her to the area faster.

"Right." Tatsunosuke continued to run down the main street while Din ran through the alleyway.

Din ran as fast as she could through the alleyway, waiting for the light to show at the end of it. She finally saw it after a long moment and soon emerged from it only to slam into someone. She fell from the hard impact and looked up only to see Yoshida standing in front of her with a tried Suzu behind him.

Din's eyes widened. "Yoshida."

She quickly got back to her feet and began to run away but was pulled back as Yoshida grabbed the back of her kimono.

"You're coming with me this time," he said in a cold tone.

"The hell I am."

Din grabbed her knife on the right side of her hip and quickly slashed it back, cutting Yoshida's wrist.

"Yoshida-sama!" Suzu yelled.

Yoshida pulled his arm back and held his wrist as he hissed in pain. He reached out once more to grab her but missed as she ducked out of his reach and hopped backwards, ready to strike again if she had to.

"Tetsunosuke-kun!" Din heard Tatsunosuke's yells from where she was.

"Tetsu-kun," she whispered.

Fearing that something was wrong, Din turned away from Yoshida and began to run once more, hoping that he wasn't behind her. She ran as fast as she could towards the smoke, and yelling. She finally reached the shack and stopping running when she saw Tatsunosuke being held back by a bystander.

"Tetsunosuke-kun!!" he yelled over and over again.

Tatsunosuke grabbed a nearby water bucket and threw it over his head, soaking him. Din did the same as the younger man began to walk into the shack, and then followed closely behind him. They both walked into the shack and began to look around.

"Where do you think he could be?" Din yelled as she began to cough.

"I've got a guess!" Tatsunosuke yelled in answer.

Tatsunosuke walked into the living room of the shack and bent down to the small closet. Taking a large breath in, he opened the door and found Tetsunosuke sitting there, with a dead look on his face.

"Tetsu-kun."

* * *

Darkness. All Tetsunosuke could and wanted to see was darkness. A small light came from the darkness and a hand came out towards him. Fearing that it was _that man_ again, Tetsunosuke scratched out causing the hands to retreat and the light to disappear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Tatsunosuke warned Souji who stood in front of the closet where Tetsunosuke was hiding. "He's biting and scratching now."

Souji walked over to where Tatsunosuke was sitting to see Din sitting beside him and wrapping up his scratched up arm. She applied a cloth to clean out the wounds, and then placed the bandages over them.

"I'm sorry," Souji said, as he took a seat.

"For?"

"Not knowing what to say." Souji moved a bit, slipping his right left underneath himself. "I thought I knew what it meant to be psychologically scarred."

"You _did_ know," Tatsunosuke answered. "Just as you said, it isn't something that would heal so easily."

Din reached next to her and grabbed a small glob of white cream out of a small bowl. She brought it up to Tatsunosuke's wounded arm and began to rub it up and down his arm; he to winced once.

"It's just that, nobody know how deep one's scar is. Who could understand? It isn't something you can see or touch especially if that person himself forgets about it," Tatsunosuke continued. "The only thing I can understand," he took his arm away from Din, "is that he witnessed his mother being slain and he saw his father's head flying into the fire and that caused his brain to go haywire. He smelt his parent's bodies burning and now he _can't_ come out again!!"

Tatsunosuke covered his eyes and Souji looked away. Din moved closer towards the dark red head and began to rub his back, trying to relax him.

"That's all I can understand." Tatsunosuke took his hands away from his face and began to shake as he lost control. "That boy…he won't grow up. His height…his body…hasn't changed for two years."

Tatsunosuke lost it. Before he could stop himself, tears from his eyes and landed in his open hands. He thought of Tetsunosuke over and over again and how he looked the same as he always had. He gripped his hands together and felt someone else's hands in his and squeezed, knowing that they belonged to Din.

"It took two years it sew it back together," Tatsunosuke finished.

Souji began couching suddenly, and stood up to try and relieve himself. Din watched as Souji walked away for a moment, and as he became lost within his own, personal thoughts.

Two years. Souji thought as he began to walk away. I wonder when…my problems will be sewn together again.

"Tatsu-kun," Din said gently, "everything will be fine with Tetsu-kun soon but please worry about yourself."

Tatsunosuke didn't respond. Din sighed and moved until his folded legs met with her folded knees. She grabbed his hand tighter, and moved it down into his lap.

"That fire may have effected Tetsu-kun but I'm worried about how it effected you as well," she began. "Seeing that again had to be hard on you so please take care of yourself."

"Din-chan…I—"

Tatsunosuke stopped. He couldn't stop and think about himself, he just couldn't, there was too much to think about…too much. He moved his empty right hand away from his lap and ran it through his short hair.

"Tatsu-kun," Din whispered.

Din reached forward and pulled Tatsunosuke towards her, and wrapped her left arm around him. She hugged him tightly, telling him over and over again that things were going to be okay. He wrapped his other arm around her also, and held tightly to her.

* * *

Hijikata stepped into a dark room and looked at the man hanging upside down with blood dripping down from him. It was Masuya, or rather Furutaka the man he had been integrating for the past few days. The stubborn man wouldn't confess anything to him and after the hours and hours of failure; Hijikata had grown tried of being "nice" and decided to push things further.

"So you're not going to confess." Hijikata walked over to Furutaka's head. "Someone who is not useful is to be discarded." He pulled out his sword and moved it towards his face.

Furutaka's eyes widened as Hijikata's blade come closer and closer towards his face and decided that Yoshida wasn't worth dying for.

"Okay, okay!!" Furutaka yelled. "Yoshida-sama is going to set fire to Kyoto! They know that you know _something_ about their plan so they're having a meeting at the Ikeda-ya tomorrow night!"

"Set fire?" Hijikata whispered in surprise.

He moved his sword upwards, Furutaka screaming, and cut the rope that held him upside down. Hijikata shoved his sword back onto his hip and walked out of the room, mumbling to himself.

* * *

"We're going to raid the Ikeda-ya and all businesses in Kyoto," Hijikata repeated to Kondo, and Yamanami. "I want to move out tomorrow night."

"Sounds good." Kondo nodded. "Souji-kun, Shinpachi-kun, and Heisuke-kun will join with me and we'll raid the Ikeda-ya and all businesses surrounding the Ikeda-ya."

"I won't be able to go," Yamanami interjected. "It seems that I've managed to catch the cold that Hinto-san has."

Hijikata let go of a small laugh. "You better just go lie down then, _she_ won't."

Kondo sighed. "Moving on, we'll move out in tomorrow night. Prepare yourselves, I'm going to go and inform the others."

Kondo stood up and walked out of the room without another word. Yamanami looked over towards Hijikata who looked back at him with his right eyebrow raised.

"I wonder what's wrong with him," Yamanami said. "He doesn't seem like himself."

"I noticed." Hijikata lit his pipe. "The stress must be getting to him. He'll be back to normal in a few days."

* * *

Yoshida stood inside of a building hidden by large cuts of wood, talking to Miyabe. As Miyabe spoke, Yoshida wrapped the cut Din had made across his wrist.

"Yoshida-sama, why aren't you at the Feudal Lord's house?" Miyabe asked. "You would be safe there!"

"I don't want to have to start over with this plan," Yoshida answered.

"Yoshida-sama," Miyabe bowed, "the meeting to decide what to do with your plan will be held tomorrow night at the Ikeda-ya."

"Very good." Yoshida finished wrapping his wrist. "I'll be there."

* * *

The next day came, and night fell slowly. Every man was on his toes, worried and excited about what would happen when the sun finally set. Most of the men now were getting ready; putting on their armor and cleaning off their swords.

Hijikata was in his room, putting on his armor when he heard the back door open. He turned around to see Din with her arms crossed, and figuring she wasn't going to talk to him just as she hadn't been for the past few days, he turned back around and began to dress.

He heard footstep but ignored them. He tightened a loose sting on his chest armor but felt a strange pressure against his back. He stopped moving and stood still, knowing that it had to be Din.

"What is it?" Hijikata asked.

Din moved her mouth to the side so Hijikata could hear her. "I got two letters today. One of them says that my adoptive parents have died."

Hijikata narrowed his eyes. "The other?"

Din gripped Hijikata's armor. "The only other person I can live with won't be able to reach me for a while. At least two years without writing me or being able to see me."

"Is that it?"

"No." Din pressed harder into Hijikata's back. "Please come back just as you are now. Please try not to get hurt. I've already lost you once, if I lose you again I'll fall apart."

Hijikata sighed. "Why do I matter _that_ much to you? After everything that's happened while you've been here you still act like you used to, like nothing's changed when so much is different."

"Because," she sniffled, "I didn't get to finish what I had with you. You're the same person I had before only…the feelings are different."

"What do you want from this?"

"I don't know."

"We can't start anything again."

Din's eyes widened a bit then closed tightly. "Maybe I'm jealous. I passed up a perfectly good man because I was still waiting for you even though I thought you were dead. I was waiting for a dead man because I knew in my heart you weren't dead." She laughed a bit. "I don't know what I want…but I just want you to know that I still love you."

"You can't."

Din pushed herself away from Hijikata's back after hearing his comment. She turned around to walk out of the room when he turned around and grabbed her wrist.

"I only cling to you because everything is falling apart around me," she said. "You feel like home, that's why I keep coming back to you. You were part of everything back when I was happy and now I'm so miserable so maybe that's why I'm in love with you. That has to be it right? I mean the person I want to see the most in this world won't talk to me for at least _two_ years! I guess that's why I'm clinging to you now."

Hijikata grabbed Din's left shoulder and turned her around so that she faced him. He looked at her eyes to see how wet they were and the trail left behind from the tears gently running down her face. He didn't know why she was crying or whom she was crying for but he knew he was a part of it.

"Right?" she asked.

Hijikata moved towards her, and moved his face down towards hers. She pulled away slightly, not knowing what he was going to do, but Hijikata pushed forward and pressed his lips onto hers gently. Din blinked for a moment, then wrapped her arms around his neck, having a bit of trouble because of the armor he had on. Responding to what she was doing, Hijikata wrapped his arms around her also.

After a few moments, Hijikata moved his lips away from Din's and moved them towards her ear, and Din doing the same.

"You are my happiness," she whispered.

"I'm sorry," he whispered in return.

* * *

"Please Yoshida-sama!" Suzu begged as he kneeled. "Please let me go with you to the Ikeda-ya!"

"No," Yoshida answered as he dressed himself. "I want you to stay here Suzu-kun. Don't move from this spot while I'm gone. I'll come back for you later."

"But Yoshida-sama!"

"Good bye Suzu-kun."

Yoshida walked towards the entrance, leaving Suzu behind. Suzu sat there in surprise that his master didn't let him go, and told himself that he was going to gather enough courage to go to the Ikeda-ya to help his master.

* * *

Hours had passed and now Hijikata had set up a small camping ground. He was talking to everyone, and heard the men behind him talking about wanting to go and fight already.

"I think we should go," Kondo said, looking towards Hijikata. "All of the men want to go. Do you want to move out?"

"Yes." Hijikata looked around. "I'll take Harada-kun, along with the other men."

"I'll talk Souji-kun, Nagakura-kun, and Toudo-kun." Kondo smiled. "We're moving out men!" he yelled. "Everyone!! Move out!!"

* * *

Yamanami was sitting up in bed, reading when his door opened. He had just woken up from a dream that he been bothering him lately, the dream of when he and the others killed the former chief. He looked up to see Tatsunosuke coming in the room with a small tray in front of him. Wanting to talk, he lowered his book and pushed up his glasses.

"Hello Tatsu-kun." Yamanami smiled.

"I made you some rice pudding." Tatsunosuke brought the food in and placed it in front of Yamanami. "I thought it might make you feel a bit better. After all you can't eat something big, being as sick as you are."

"Tatsu-kun," Yamanami lowered his head, "I'm not really sick. I just didn't want to go to the raids, I don't want to kill anyone any more."

"Actually," Tatsunosuke scratched the back of his head, "I believe in the same thing. I would rather have Tetsu-kun believe the same thing but…well you know." Tatsunosuke stood up. "Now that you're feeling better, there's some leftover broiled fish, do you want some?"

"Sure." Yamanami smiled.

As Tatsunosuke walked back into the kitchen he looked outside and spotted Din standing near the front gates. He stopped walking, and wanted to go over towards her but stopped. The way she was looking out towards the street, with her arms up at her chest, and sighing while looking out into to the street once in a while. He wanted to go over to her and ask her what was wrong but remembered Yamanami, his superior, waiting for him, and walked back into the kitchen.

* * *

Susumu was tired of this. He couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed the closet door that hid Tetsunosuke and pulled on it. Tetsunosuke, out of fear, pulled back on it, trying to stay in his own little world but Susumu cursed and ripped the closet door off of the hinges.

"Now," Susumu panted, "hurry up and come out. You have to go and fight in the raid, after all," he tossed a uniform and sword, "you won't want Hijikata-sama to have wasted all of this."

Tetsunosuke slowly looked down towards the uniform that told everyone in the streets that he was a member of the Shinsengumi, and the sword he had been waiting for. He was a member. A _member_.

"W-What have you done?"

Susumu turned around to see Tatsunosuke standing in the doorway with the look of shock on his face. Susumu rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"What have you done!?" Tatsunosuke yelled once more.

"Why? You don't like the idea of Tetsu-kun being out in the real world? Are you that scared? You want Tetsu-kun to stay in the closet don't you? You want him to never come out don't you?" Susumu asked over and over again.

"You…you have no idea what you've done!!" Tatsunosuke yelled.

The anger inside of Tatsunosuke boiled over inside of him. He ran towards Susumu with his fist outwards and pushed it forward, aiming for Susumu's face. Susumu, being used to combat, put his hand up and blocked the dark red head's attack.

"I say that it's time you sit back and let Tetsu-kun make his own choices," Susumu warned.

* * *

Susumu was now on the roof, and had left Tetsunosuke and Tatsunosuke alone to do his job. He was running on the roofs, going towards the Ikeda-ya in case his fellow comrades needed him.

Suddenly, a ninja knife shot out in front of Susumu's right foot; he stood up and looked to the right where the female ninja stood.

"You're still playing these ninja games? Even after what happened to your sister?" she asked.

Susumu gripped his fists together. "These ninja games end tonight."

* * *

"Tetsu-kun?"

Yamanami walked into the room where Susumu had ripped off the closet door, and where Tetsunosuke still hid with the uniform covering him now. Yamanami sighed, and walked over to the wall and sat down, leaning against it.

"I wanted to tell you something, I'm not really ill, I'm just too scared to fight," Yamanami confessed. "It's just that when times like this come, I think of these fish, Medokas, I used to watch when I was younger. They would always try to swim upstream and always fought they're hardest. The fish were so courageous, not like me but maybe like you Tetsu-kun." He laughed. "I'm sorry to have bored you Tetsu-kun."

* * *

Kondo lead his group into the Ikeda-ya and up a set of stairs and to a door he quickly kicked open. There, in a circle, were Choshu members all drinking, all of the men who the Shinsengumi had been looking for.

"This is a raid!" Kondo yelled. "Anyone who protests will be killed!"

"All of you stay and fight!" Yoshida stood up and grabbed the handle of his sword.

"This is your second warning!" Kondo ordered.

"We can take them all!" Yoshida yelled to his men. "There are more of you! We out number them!"

"That's it!" Kondo raised his sword. "Kill everyone who opposes without mercy!"

* * *

R&R please! 


	15. Stranger

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Damn I need to keep updating. I have twenty five chapters waiting on this damn computer but stupid AOL is being a bitch. Anyways, enjoy and review please! **OOOO**-Shows a flashback

* * *

The Choshu ran around the Ikeda-ya, and tried to attack the Shinsengumi members but they were forced back in blood. Yoshida was pushed out of the backdoor by his soldiers and stood in the backyard of the Ikeda-ya, listening to those fellow members die. He heard someone call out his name, then a gargling noise he knew too well.

They were all in there, dying for him. They were giving themselves up for him, just as Setsuna, the only woman he had ever been close to, had so many years before. Was he really worth all of this trouble? He had to be, if people were giving themselves up for him, he had to make it through this.

"Yoshida-sama!!"

Yoshida turned around to see Suzu running over towards him. He turned his nose up the young boy and looked back towards the Ikeda-ya.

"What are you doing here Suzu-kun?" he asked with a cold tone.

"I came to fight!" Suzu argued. "I wanna help you! I wanna fight by your side!"

"Suzu-kun."

"Please!!" Suzu begged. "I don't wanna be alone anymore! Let me help you fight this, and bring down the Shinsengumi!!"

Yoshida gave a slight grin. "If you want to help, Suzu-kun, then go back to base and get reinforcements. Come back here quickly and then you can help us fight. Hurry Suzu-kun, I'll be here waiting for you to return."

Suzu's eyes brightened. "Yes Yoshida-sama!"

"Go!!"

Suzu backed away and ran out into the streets, heading towards the Choshu base. He ran as fast as he could, hoping that he would get there in time to fight by his master just like he thought it should be.

Yoshida began to walk down an Ikeda-ya, listening and watching his fellow comrades being killed by the Shinsengumi members, Kondo, and Shinpachi. He came closer and closer when suddenly Heisuke came out of the corner and Yoshida attacked.

"Heisuke!" Shinpachi screamed.

Yoshida moved his spear upwards, and cut Heisuke's forehead, causing him to fall on the floor while Shinpachi screamed.

* * *

Susumu kicked down the female ninja, knocking her down onto the floor. She hissed and looked back up at him as he grabbed a large gun and pointed it upwards. Her eyes widened as she wondered what he was going to do.

"This is over," he said coldly.

Susumu pulled the trigger on the gun, firing a bright, white flare into the air. The sky lit up, and told Hijikata's group where everyone else was, and that Yoshida was in the area where he was.

The light also lead Tetsunosuke down the street and over to the Ikeda-ya. His heart was pounding away in his chest, and he was grabbing his uniform trying to see if what was happening was real. He grabbed his sword and held tight to it, hoping that it would save him if something happened.

* * *

Back in the Ikeda-ya, Souji managed to stab Yoshida, and got him to fall down onto the ground, cursing in pain. Wanting to finish everything once and for all, Souji raised his sword upwards and got ready to force it down with all of his strength.

"Okita-san!"

Souji glanced over to his right and saw Tetsunosuke standing in the doorway. Yoshida noticed the smaller boy now, and wanting to get over to him, he kicked Souji out of the way and crawled over towards him.

Tetsunosuke's legs moved before his mind could even tell them to. He began to run, run like he had in the burning shack but suddenly, he asked himself why he was running. He felt the uniform he had on move whenever he moved his legs, reminding him that he had it on and thus making him remember that he was a part of the Shinsengumi. Tetsunosuke stopped running.

Yoshida had gotten back onto his feet and began running after Tetsunosuke but Souji interfered and stabbed Yoshida once more. They began to clash weapons over and over again but Souji, all of a sudden, pulled away and began to cough. He coughed over and over again into his hand and as he pulled it away he saw blood in his palm.

_I'm coughing up blood._ He thought.

Distracted now, Souji began coughing and soon Yoshida took advantage of the situation and knocked Souji onto the floor where his coughing fit grew. Tetsunosuke was now in a closet, watching and whimpering as memories came back to him once more. Yoshida ignored the noises and stepped onto Souji's armor and pushed down with his entire body weight.

Souji screamed as his armor broke and pressed into his skin. Tetsunosuke watched and heard Souji's armor breaking and thought it might also be the noise of Souji's rib cage breaking. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to picture something else but a strange feeling came over him, the feeling of wanting to protect.

_I have to protect Okita-san_! Tetsunosuke told himself. _If I can't fight, then I'll just have to protect the people I love! The people who are getting hurt! I don't want to be strong enough to kill; I want to be strong enough to protect the ones I love!_

Figuring his emotions out, Tetsunosuke gathered his courage and thrusted his sword out of the closet, and hit Yoshida in the leg.

"Damn!" Yoshida hissed, taking his leg off of Souji's chest.

* * *

"Did you see that flare?" Sanosuke asked Hijikata. "Hijikata-sama, it came from near the Ikeda-ya inn!"

"Let's move out! As fast as we can!" Hijikata ordered as he walked out in front of the troop he was leading.

_"You are my happiness."_

_Damn._ Hijikata thought as he led the group._ Why the hell is that bothering me so much right now?

* * *

_

Din walked into Yamanami's room with a tray full of food that Tatsunosuke had promised to bring in. She set the tray down by Yamanami's bedside and began setting it up while Yamanami looked away from her and out of his backdoor. Once everything was set out, Din stood and walked over to the corner of the room where she began to pick up dirty laundry.

"Are you scared?" Yamanami asked, breaking the silence.

"About?" she answered without facing him.

"Hijikata?"

"I'm worried about _everyone_." She bent down and began collecting the laundry.

"Why?"

"Because I care about all of them and I don't want to lose them," she said simply.

He smiled. "You're very selfish."

She twitched. "What makes you say that?"

"I've known you for a while now Hinto-san…and having you back now just tells me how selfish you really are."

She turned around to him and placed her hands on her hips. "How can you say something like that with a smile on your face? After _you_ insulted _me_ just the other—"

"You're cold but such a warm hearted person underneath it. You're selfish, and don't care if you lie to someone," Yamanami said as he looked up towards Din, his smile still there. "You see something one way, and not any other way. You remind me of Hijikata."

She blinked. "That's supposed to be a compliment?"

He nodded. "And I think that's why we don't get along."

Din rolled her eyes. "I think that fever is getting to you. I'll come back and check on you in a few hours."

With that Din walked out of the room with her arms covered in laundry she was planning to do in order to distract herself. Yamanami kept his smile on his face, and returned his vision to the backyard.

_Sometimes too much like him._ He thought.

* * *

Tetsunosuke's fight with Yoshida continued, leading the both of them outside, in the backyard. Shinpachi, Heisuke, and Kondo watched as the small red head proved himself with every move he finished, and every time he dodged a deadly attack. Souji soon joined the group of watchers, dragging himself over to the open doors to watch.

"Tetsu-kun watch it!!" Shinpachi yelled when he spotted a dangerous open area for Tetsunosuke.

Tetsunosuke dodged Yoshida's attack and brought his sword up, cutting Yoshida's arm off from his body. He yelled, and staggered backwards and fell down from the pain and shock of everything.

"Way to go puppy-kun!!" Heisuke called out. "Finish him off!!"

Tetsunosuke moved over towards Yoshida's head and suddenly stopped moving all together.

"Why?" Tetsunosuke asked. "Why did you kill my family that night two years ago?"

"What?" Yoshida hissed.

"What the hell were you thinking!? You killed my family!!"

"What are you talking about?"

Tetsunosuke stopped. This man, it wasn't him. This wasn't the man who took the life of his mother and father. But if this weren't him, why would Tetsunosuke kill him? He had nothing against him now, he wasn't hurting anyone he loved at the moment and he hadn't hurt him before.

"TETSU-KUN!" Shinpachi yelled.

Yoshida found a piece of metal on the floor and gripped it between his teeth. He moved towards Tetsunosuke to finish him off while he was stunned but Souji swept in and cut off Yoshida's head, ending everything.

"Okita-san," Tetsunosuke whimpered.

He couldn't hold anything back anymore, he just couldn't. Tears fell from his eyes as he fell to his knees from everything he had just seen. He had been in his first real fight and could have easily died. Everything hit him at once, and his tears cascaded down his face before he could stop them.

"Everything's okay Tetsu-kun," Souji said gently. "Everything's over now."

* * *

Everything had recovered now. The rest of the Shinsengumi had come to the Ikeda-ya, and had helped with the wounded victims. Everyone was getting ready to go back to headquarters when Tetsunosuke ran back into the backyard to grab his swords.

Suzu walked in during that moment and found Yoshida dead. He looked on in horror and saw Tetsunosuke run away as if nothing had happened.

_No._ Suzu thought. _You said we would meet up again, you can't be dead_.

Suzu walked towards his master's head and fell to his knees. He picked up his head and looked at it.

"Yoshida-sama," he whispered.

First Setsuna-chan, and now Yoshida-sama. He thought as he began to cry. No it can't be possible.

He wrapped his master's head in a white cloth and placed it underneath his arm. He walked out of the backyard but didn't know where to go. The Choshu base didn't care what happened to him, and he didn't have any family or friends, so he had nowhere to go but he didn't care. He walked down the street and kept going. Just walking.

* * *

The next day had arrived and with it, the Gion Festival which most of the Shinsengumi members wanted to visit. Wanting to discuss going, the trio was in Souji's room where Hijikata was, making sure Souji was feeling better after what happened at the Ikeda-ya. Tetsunosuke, being Hijikata's page was also there, sitting beside Susumu who was just there because he wanted to be.

"There's gonna be fireworks!" Sanosuke said happily. "It's going to be great this year!"

"Hey you know what?" Heisuke interjected. "If we could watch them from on top of the roof just like we used to."

"That would look awesome!" Shinpachi said.

"What do _you_ think?" Souji asked, turning to Hijikata.

"No, no one is to go on the roof tonight," he answered, crossing his arms. "Everyone needs to be ready in case the Choshu attack our base for what we did."

"Can we go to the festival?" Shinpachi and Sanosuke asked together.

"Just be somewhere where we can reach you." Hijikata sighed. "Now get out, Souji-kun needs to get some rest."

The trio left without protest, leaving only the four behind. Hijikata stood up and moved only to see Tetsunosuke moving out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you…do you want some tea!?" Tetsunosuke asked happily. "Cause you know I can get up and get you some!"

"No, your tea tastes like crap, I only drink it when I have too," Hijikata answered, breaking the red head's sprit. "What do you want to make me bloated? Quit asking me every chance you get."

Susumu sighed and grabbed Tetsunosuke. "We'll be excusing ourselves."

He pulled Tetsunosuke up and walked out of the room, now leaving only two behind until Din walked into the room with two cups of tea on a tray. She walked into the room, set the tray down and got back up to leave.

"Din-chan!" Souji looked up towards her. "Why don't you stay with us for awhile? I haven't been able to talk to you for a while."

"I'm sorry," she said, turning back around. "I have a lot of chores to do right now Souji-kun and I promised someone something but I'll make sure to talk to you tonight before bed alright?"

"Sure." He blinked. "Is there something wrong Din-chan? You're in a hurry to get out of here it seems."

"No." She blushed and moved her hands up in protest. "It's nothing Souji-kun! I'll talk to you tonight."

Din turned back around and walked out with a slight jump in her step Souji could hear as she walked down the wooden planks. Souji blinked, not getting anything and turned back around to Hijikata to see him looking away with the hints of a fading blush on his face.

"Why are you blushing!?" Souji asked suddenly. Then it hit him and he narrowed his eyes to prove it to the other man. "Din-chan didn't come to bed last night…were you two keeping each other company?"

"It wasn't like that," Hijikata hissed.

**000000000000000000000**

Hijikata walked into his room from coming from the Ikeda-ya and found Din sleeping in the futon she had been sleeping in when she was ill. Blinking, he walked over to her and moved the covers to cover her completely. He looked at her for a moment, and then sat back against the nearest wall.

Din's eyes moved a bit from feeling the movement of Hijikata. Her eyes fluttered open, and then looked over towards him.

"Hijikata?" she asked with a tired tone. "Hijikata!"

She jumped out of the bed, stumbled over to him and hugged him tightly. He sat there for a second, and then took back the thought of hugging her back.

"I was waiting for you all night," Din said in a usual happy tone. "I'm sorry I fell asleep waiting."

Hijikata pushed Din away and looked at her questioning eyes. Din then looked away first, and her hands gripped within themselves.

"Hijikata," she began, "this is all too weird. I don't know what I want from you. I only know that I want to at least be able to talk to you. I want to talk to you without hate or regret getting in the way."

Hijikata sighed. "That would be nice but—"

"But?"

"There's too much risk involved."

"Too much risk?" Din repeated. "What are you talking about?"

Hijikata looked away from her. "I can't do what I did before."

Din looked away also and released her fists. He didn't want to fall for her again and risk everything. This was just like it had been before, only now Hijikata had more to risk. The Shinsengumi had grown, and thus gained more enemies, leaving anyone Hijikata cared for that didn't know how to use a sword at risk.

"So does that mean…," Din whispered as she thought out loud. "That you still…"

"You don't have to say it." Hijikata blushed a bit.

Din's eyes watered. "H-Hijikata."

She fell forward back into his chest and began to cry slightly. Hijikata just sat there and listened as his arm began to reach around her, but then stopped, knowing that it could never be like that again, they were just strangers living under the same house, they were just friends that had never been in love. Just strangers.

**000000000000000000000**

"That's it," Hijikata finished, letting go of a puff of smoke at the same time. "Nothing too outrageous or anything like that."

"Oh." Souji looked away. "I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

"Well," Souji crossed his arms, "I had no idea that you and Din-chan had slept together when you were younger and I was hoping that maybe if you did, you would get back together."

"Souji-kun," his pipe almost fell out of his mouth, "why do you want us back together?"

"You were both so happy back then." Souji looked outside. "The way Din-chan smiled when she was around you, and the way you talked to her and the way you acted…you seemed so happy together."

"Souji-kun." Hijikata sighed. "That was a long time ago."

"But—"

"I don't want you to tell anyone what I just told you," Hijikata interrupted. "This is to stay between you, Din, and I."

Souji sighed. "Yes Hijikata-sama."

* * *

"Hey Tatsu-kun!!"

Tatsunosuke looked up from his work and saw the trio standing next to him, all with grins crossing their faces. Shinpachi bent over first, and moved closer towards Tatsunosuke.

"The Gion Festival is today, why don't you ask Din-chan to go?" Shinpachi giggled.

Tatsunosuke blushed. "To tell the truth I already have."

"What!?" the three yelled together.

"I asked her at breakfast this morning." Tatsunosuke closed a book he had been working on. "She and I are leaving in a few minutes."

"Tatsu-kun," Din said, popping out from around a door. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." Tatsunosuke stood up and straightened out his kimono.

"Tatsu-san," Susumu walked into the room, "Tetsu-kun wants you to come with us to the festival."

"He does?" Tatsunosuke twitched.

"Come on!" Tetsunosuke yelled. "Come on Tatsu-nii!"

"Is it alright if they come?" Tatsunosuke asked Din, scratching the back of his head.

"Sure." She shrugged. "Come on, let's go."

"Don't let the small ones stop you!!" Heisuke whispered as Tatsunosuke walked by him. "Go somewhere private or something!"

Tatsunosuke ignored them and walked over towards Din, Susumu, and Tetsunosuke. They talked for a moment, then began to walk out of the Shinsengumi, leaving the trio behind to talk amongst themselves.

"Do you really think he likes her?" Heisuke asked, watching Tatsunosuke and Din walk away.

"I think the question is whether _she_ likes _him_." Shinpachi sighed.

"Why?" Sanosuke asked, moving down to the red head's level. "Do you know something we don't know about Din-chan?"

"She's just been with Hijikata-sama a lot," Shinpachi answered. "That one time she was with him all night long and barely came out. Not only that but when she left for that while, Hijikata-sama told us to forget it."

"Hum." Sanosuke crossed his arms. "I'm sure she'll tell us if we ask."

"You mean she'll tell _you_," Shinpachi said, glaring up towards the taller man.

"_Yeah_." Heisuke added. "You and her have been keeping a few secrets from us."

Sanosuke sighed and walked away from the group; the leftovers two to looked at him in wonder.

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you." Sanosuke sighed once more.

"Really?!" Shinpachi and Heisuke asked together as one.

"Yeah," Sanosuke sat down on the wooden planks, "it was twelve years ago, when I met Setsuna-chan, and that's what everything's about. Her."

* * *

R&R please! 


	16. Bond

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

This is for Kyuuketsuki-san because she made me smile today. Thank you so much! Thanks for the reviews! Anyways, this is a flashback chapter about seventeen years or so. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

A fifteen-year-old Sanosuke walked through a large market with a basket in his arms full of food. He groaned and mumbled to himself as he walked, carrying the weight by himself but the reward of what the food was going to be turned into pushed him forward.

_Man this is dull!_ He thought. _Why couldn't Hijikata-sama force Shinpachi-kun and Heisuke-kun to come with me?_

As he walked, a small bundle of apples hanging onto his right arm began to fall over, and wanting to catch them, he bent over only to start to lose his balance. He struggled to stay upwards and catch the apples at the same time but he suddenly felt someone push him back up and close up the bag of apples.

Sanosuke caught his balance and looked towards his right. There stood a young woman with black hair that appeared blue that had been gathered in the back and tied together and hit her back. Her two different colored eyes, her right one brown and the other blue caught his attention first. She was wearing a simple dark purple kimono with gloves covering both of her hands.

"You got it?" she asked, blinking.

"Yeah thanks," he groaned, moving once more. "Hey you look familiar, you got an older sister or something?"

"Yeah," she answered titling her head. "Din Hinto, why you know her?"

Sanosuke blinked. "Din-chan? Yeah she hangs out at the Shinsengumi."

"That's where she is today?" the young woman answered. "I've been lookin' all over for her! Can you show me where she is?"

"Sure." Sanosuke placed the food down on the ground. "What's your name anyways?"

"Setsuna." She smiled. "Hinto Setsuna."

* * *

The two of them walked through the market, and out into the village where Sanosuke lead the young woman to the Shinsengumi dojo at Seia Hall. They walked up to it together, and then walked into the kitchen allowing Sanosuke to place all of the food he had just bought.

"Where is she?" Setsuna asked, looking around.

"Come on." Sanosuke walked in front of her. "She might be having tea with Kondo-sama in the main room."

Setsuna stepped after him as he lead her to the main room of the dojo where in fact Kondo was sitting with a nine year old Souji, and drinking tea. Sanosuke coughed a bit, catching Kondo's attention.

"Kondo-sama, this girl is looking for Din-chan," Sanosuke said, pointing backwards.

"And who is she?" Kondo asked, placing his tea down onto the floor.

"Din-nee's out in the back with Hijikata-sama," Souji answered.

"DIN-NEE!" Setsuna yelled with her hands around the sides of her mouth. "Din-nee!! Where are you?!"

"Setsuna-chan please don't go around shouting."

Setsuna turned to her left to see Din standing with a laundry basket under her right arm and Hijikata standing behind her. Setsuna's eyes watered as she spotted her older sister, and she ran over to her, sticking her head in her chest.

"I haven't seen you in three days!" she whimpered; her voice a bit muffled from where she was. "I missed you."

"I told you I wouldn't be able to make it." Din moved the laundry basket down to the floor beside her.

"But still!!"

Din sighed and wrapped her arms around the smaller one's head. "I'm sorry. I should have tried harder."

"Can you take me back to the orphanage?" Setsuna asked, pulling away from her older sister's chest. "Please? There's something I wanna talk to you about!"

"Uh," Din looked away, "I have a lot more work here Setsuna-chan."

"But—"

"Don't worry about it," Hijikata interjected; everyone to look towards him. "I'll fill the paperwork out to say you spent the whole night here. Go take her home and come back."

Din blinked and looked back at Hijikata with a smile on her face. "Thank you Toshi-kun."

It had been a six months since Sanosuke had joined the Shinsengumi, and a year with knowing Din because of her family's bakery but he had never known Setsuna. He had begun to notice something with Din and Hijikata because of her calling of his name in such a familiar way, but he just figured that they had known each other longer then he had known of.

"Do you want to go now?" Din asked, turning back to Setsuna.

"Yeah." She smiled. "But I want him to go." She turned to her side and pointed to Sanosuke.

"Harada-kun?" Kondo asked. "Why?"

"He didn't escort me here the right way," she said, sticking her nose up in the air. "I want him to pay his debt to me and escort me back the _right_ way."

"Hey!!" Sanosuke yelled as he pointed back to her. "I had groceries in my arms! How the hell was I supposed to escort you?"

"Excuses from someone who's not a gentleman!" Setsuna turned her back on him.

"Kondo-sama, do I have to?" Sanosuke whined.

"Yes I think you owe it to her." Kondo smiled.

"Damn." Sanosuke crossed his arms.

"Come on!" Setsuna tugged on Din's kimono. "We have to get back before they notice I'm gone."

"You didn't tell anyone you were leaving?" Din twitched. "Setsuna-chan! Please tell me you told _someone_."

Setsuna turned away. "No, I'm sorry."

Din sighed. "Alright then, let's hurry up and get back before your curfew."

"Din-nee," Souji asked, looking up at her, "you're coming back tonight right?"

"Yes Souji-kun." She gently petted his head.

* * *

Sanosuke walked with his right arm looped, and both of Setsuna's arms within the loop. Din walked on the other side of the street twitching as she looked over towards Sanosuke to make sure he wasn't doing anything he wasn't supposed to.

"So Din-nee," Setsuna glared over towards her, "who's that little boy who calls you Din-nee?"

"That's Souji-kun," she answered. "He's only nine and lost his older sister a while ago. Maybe he calls me that because I'm with him so much, no big deal. Why?"

"Callin' my sister _his_ sister." She puffed up her cheeks.

"Jealous?" Sanosuke teased.

"Shut up!" she hissed. "No one asked you!"

"Why the hell are you always yelling?!" Sanosuke yelled back.

"Because your face pisses me off!!" she yelled back, squeezing his arm tightly.

"My face?" Sanosuke twitched. "What's wrong with my face?!"

"EVERYTHING!"

"Cut it out!" Din yelled, quieting the two down. "Damn you're making people look at us."

The rest of the walk remained silent, Setsuna and Sanosuke looking away from one another because they were so irritated. Din sighed once they reached the orphanage and bid Setsuna farewell, Sanosuke still being quiet. As soon as Setsuna walked inside, Din and Sanosuke turned away and began walking home.

"So?" she asked.

"So what?"

"What do you think?"

"About?"

"About Setsuna-chan!!" Din rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what am I supposed to think?" Sanosuke crossed his arms. "She too much like you."

Din twitched. "What are you tryin' to say?"

"Nothin'."

* * *

A day later, Sanosuke was sitting outside and relaxing from a hard day of training in the dojo. He had a small bowl of rice and was about to enjoy it when he heard footsteps coming towards him.

"Hey Sanosuke-kun!" Shinpachi called out as he walked over to the taller man with Heisuke following behind him. "We caught you leaving with a lady yesterday! Who was she?"

"Yeah come on hot shot, tell us who she was," Heisuke teased.

"She was Din-chan's little sister," Sanosuke answered with a mouthful of rice. "I was ordered to take her back to the orphanage."

"Orphanage?" Heisuke raised an eyebrow. "Din-chan's eighteen, why hasn't she adopted her sister yet?"

"Her family has to do it," Shinpachi answered. "Either that or she has to get married to someone and how is she gonna do that when she's here all the time?" He laughed a bit.

"Din-chan's been adopted right?" Heisuke blinked. "Then what is she doing working here?"

"She does work for the orphanage to be close to her sister and they ordered her to do her work here," Shinpachi explained once more.

"How do you know all of this?" Sanosuke gulped down his food.

"I've got some insider information." Shinpachi grinned.

"You mean you bribe Souji-kun with candy to get him to repeat the conversations between Hijikata-sama, Kondo-sama, and Yamanami-sama." Heisuke narrowed his eyes and Shinpachi to look away.

"Anyway," Shinpachi changed the subject, "what's her little sister's name?"

"Setsuna." Sanosuke shoved his chopsticks into his mouth once more.

"Is she cute?" Heisuke asked.

"She talks too much." Sanosuke stuck his nose in the air.

"I do not!"

The trio looked in front of them and saw Setsuna with her hands on her hips and her lower lip puffed out. She stomped forward but suddenly Heisuke ran over to her and grabbed her right hand.

"Hi I'm Toudou Heisuke, you can call me Heisuke-kun," he said with a grin across his face.

"I'm Setsuna," she answered back, blinking.

"You are soo cute!" He moved her closer. "You know you look nothing like your older sister."

"Yes she does," Shinpachi said, twitching.

"Anyway," Heisuke moved back and pointed to Shinpachi. "that's Nagakura Shinpachi but you can call him Shinpachi-kun and of course you already know Sanosuke-kun."

"Yeah." Setsuna took her hand away from Heisuke. "Do you know where Kondo-sama is? I have to talk to him."

"Uh," Heisuke scratched his head, "in his room I think."

"Thanks." Setsuna took a step back then ran into the dojo, disappearing from the boy's sight.

"What was that about?" Shinpachi asked as he blinked.

Wanting to know what the little woman was up to, Sanosuke slipped away from Shinpachi and Heisuke and walked over to Kondo's room where he stood by the door, listening.

"Kondo-sama! I want to join the Shinsengumi!" Setsuna announced.

"WHAT!?" Din yelled.

Sanosuke moved a bit more until he could see inside of the room. He saw Kondo sitting in the middle of the room with Din and Hijikata sitting beside him as if they had been discussing something important.

"Setsuna-chan are you crazy?" Din yelled. "You cannot join the Shinsengumi! You're a woman!"

"Please Kondo-sama!" she pleaded.

"Setsuna-chan," Hijikata said firmly, "the rules are that a woman cannot join in the Shinsengumi. Do you understand this?"

"No!" Setsuna yelled. "Why is Din-nee allowed to work here and stay overnight here? Please allow me the same benefits."

"Din-chan stays here because she is a caretaker and a maid. She is taking care of Souji-kun and doing maid duties at the same time," Hijikata answered for Kondo. "You are only fifteen, you cannot apply to become a maid."

"But I'm going to be sixteen in just three months! Please!!" Setsuna bowed.

"Setsuna-chan," Kondo said gently, "why do you want to work here?"

Setsuna sat up and looked away from the group. "I wanna be near Din-nee. I never get to see her anymore! Please just let me be with her for a while!"

Kondo sighed. "Setsuna-chan, I will give you a job here as an equipment cleaner. The age limit on that job is thirteen so you pass. You will be needed here on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays."

"Thank you so much Kondo-sama!" Setsuna bowed down. "I will work as hard as I can!"

"Very good." Kondo laughed a bit.

* * *

A week had passed and Sanosuke hadn't told anyone what had happened but they noticed. He was now heading towards a dojo to train for an upcoming fight. It would be the groups first real battle with all of them heading out, dressed in what they called a uniform.

He stepped into the open dojo and saw Setsuna with the spears in her lap, while her hands were busy wrapping her right hand up with bandages.

"You alright?" Sanosuke asked, stepping in.

"Fine." She sniffled. "What do _you_ want?"

Sanosuke crossed his arms and turned his head to the side. "Nothing! I just came in here to train that's all!"

"Oh." Setsuna looked away. "I'm sorry, I'll clean up and then get out of your way."

Sanosuke turned back towards the young woman when he heard the spears clank together. She stood up, staggering, and moved towards the wall where she was going to try and place them back where they belonged.

"Hey you need some help?" Sanosuke asked as he walked over to her and grabbed the spears away from her.

"I'm fine." She moved her left hand underneath her eyes to wipe away a stray tear. "I don't need your help."

"Damn you're stubborn!" Sanosuke looked away once more.

"Yeah so?" She turned away also. "You're just as stubborn and as hard headed as I am so get over it."

The two stood there in silence as the sun came between the two of them and brightened the room up. Sanosuke moved the spears, letting her know that the silence was bothering him and she sighed, telling him the same thing.

Looking for something to talk about, Sanosuke looked over her body and saw that the bandage wrapped around her right hand had been bled through.

"What did you do to your hand?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh," she looked down at it, "I cut my hand on a spear when I was cleaning it."

Sanosuke placed the spears down on the floor. "Lemme see."

Setsuna turned back to the taller man and held out her hand. Carefully removing the bandages, he could see that she had cut herself along her palm and that it wasn't as deep as he thought it was. He reached down beside the young woman and grabbed the roll of bandages and wrapped her hand up once more.

"You should be okay after this wrapping," Sanosuke said as he wrapped her hand.

"I'm sorry Sanosuke-kun," she sighed, "you came here to train not do something stupid like this."

He twitched. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm so stupid," she whimpered as she lowered her head. "I can't believe I cut myself, I'm such a useless dumbass."

"What?" Sanosuke blinked and looked at her.

She sniffled. "I'm just a nuisance. I can't do anything right Sanosuke-kun, I just wanna give up. Everyone seems to think I'm stupid. From the way they look at me, to the way they talk down to me, I know they think I'm stupid."

"You can't!" Sanosuke said, sticking his chest out. Setsuna looked at him and blinked. "After all if I quit after everything I did that was stupid then…then…" He stopped talking. "Then I wouldn't be here."

"That doesn't make sense." Setsuna blinked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yeah," Sanosuke laughed, "but it still made you smile."

Setsuna blushed and smiled at the same time. Only Din had made her feel good about herself, and it was a bit strange that someone outside of her family was saying something so nice to her.

After he finished his wrapping, Setsuna took her hand back and studied it. Sighing once more, she grabbed her nearby glove and slipped it back on.

"If the orphanage sees this they'll kill me." She turned away from Sanosuke. "Thanks a lot, I owe you."

Sanosuke laughed a bit. "Don't worry about it."

* * *

The fight Sanosuke and the other had planned for had come and passed. The Shinsengumi had won, and thus ruined their reputation even more then before. Now they were all sitting in the dining hall, laughing and celebrating their win.

"Hey Sanosuke-kun!" Shinpachi said happily. "I dare you to sniff a whole handful of pepper!"

"Bring it!"

Heisuke dumped a handful of black pepper into Sanosuke's left hand. "Come on we know you can pull _this_ off."

"Watch me!"

Sanosuke brought his hand up to his nose and inhaled deeply, sucking up all of the pepper in his hand. He started to cough, then started to sneeze, causing everyone around him to start laughing.

"Harada-san is so stupid," a fellow member whispered to another but was caught by Sanosuke. "I bet he couldn't even commit Seppuku the right way if he had too."

"He wouldn't even die right!" the other answered with a laugh.

"Everyone seems to think I'm stupid. From the way they look at me, to the way they talk down to me, I know they think I'm stupid."

Those words ran through Sanosuke's head, and he remembered how Setsuna looked when she had said those words. These were the same people who looked and talked about her the same way, not only did they think that she was dim-witted, they thought the same of _him_.

"Oh yeah!?" Sanosuke stood up and grabbed his sword. "Well I'll show you!"

He moved his sword to his stomach and pushed it in and pulled it across, causing him to fall forward.

"SANOSUKE-KUN!" Shinpachi and Heisuke yelled together.

Sanosuke looked up and saw blurred images of his best friends, and soon their voices began to blur at the same time. He didn't care about what he had just done, he had proved his point, and was smarter then they thought he was. Then what _they_ thought.

"Ya see?" he groaned. "So there we're not…_stupid_."

* * *

Chirping birds woke Sanosuke up. He blinked, his vision still blurry but slowly becoming clear. He looked to his side and saw Setsuna sitting next to him, looking down towards the cut on her hand.

"Setsuna-chan?" he asked weakly causing her to turn to him.

"Sanosuke-kun!" she said happily. "I'm so happy that you've managed to wake up!"

Sanosuke groaned once more as the pain hit him. "Hey, maybe now…they won't think _we're_," he took in a deep breath through a wave of pain. "so stupid."

Setsuna's eyes softened, then water gathered underneath them. "Sanosuke-kun!" She whimpered. "You're an idiot."

She leaned forward as she began crying, and placed her head on Sanosuke's chest. Sniffling, she moved both hands to his chest and moved them onto the rest of his chest gently.

* * *

R&R please! 


	17. Accident

I don't own PMK or any if it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna Hinto.

Thanks for the reviews! I really love each and every one of them! Pleas enjoy while I keep updating until I'm caught up with what I have on my comp.

Enjoy!

* * *

"So?" Shinpachi sat forward towards Sanosuke. "What else happened between you two?"

Sanosuke sighed. "I guess after that…we became boyfriend and girlfriend."

"WHAT!?" Heisuke and Shinpachi yelled together at once.

"Yeah." Sanosuke blushed. "The last time I saw her she was crying. She was upset about something and then she told she was going back to the orphanage and that she would be back in a second. After that she got adopted and I never saw her again." He reached down into his kimono and pulled out a small envelope. "She did send me this though."

The taller man passed the envelope to the other two who took it and placed it between themselves. They looked at once another, then pulled the envelope open, revealing a picture and worn out letter.

Heisuke bent down to the fallen picture and picked it up. Neat handwriting was placed on the back that the black haired man had never seen before.

_Setsuna Hinto and Sanosuke Harada--date unknown--._

Meanwhile Shinpachi pulled out the letter gently and opened it, being careful because of the creases and already torn paper.

_Sanosuke-chan,_

_This is the last time I will ever be able to write you. I'm sorry for everything I've let, and caused to happen to you. Please forgive me, and at the same time, forget me. You'll always be in my heart and I'm sorry that everything turned out this way._

_Don't tell Din-nee._

_Setsuna _

"Did you tell her?" Shinpachi asked as he handed the letter to Heisuke, and Heisuke passed the picture to Shinpachi.

Sanosuke sighed. "That's what we went out to talk about the day after we found out about Setsuna-chan dying."

Shinpachi shook his head. "Sanosuke-kun…I'm sorry."

"It's alright." he said with a grin on his face.

* * *

Tetsunosuke, Tatsunosuke, Susumu, and Din were all walking around in the market where the festival was being held, Tetsunosuke running around and being the loudest of them all.

"Come on you guys!" Tetsunosuke yelled as he ran ahead of the group. He ran over towards a booth and grabbed a small toy gun. "Come on Tatsu-nii! You're good at this game."

Tatsunosuke sighed. "Not today Tetsu-kun, I think I'll pass."

Hearing this and the way he said it, Susumu and Din looked towards one another, telling each other something, then looked away. Din coughed and broke away from the group.

"I'm going to go do something, I'll be back a bit later," she announced.

"Are you gonna be back in time for the fireworks?" Tetsunosuke asked, looking back towards her.

"Don't worry." She laughed, crossing her arms. "I'll be back."

Din continued to walk away from the group until she disappeared into a crowd. Tatsunosuke watched until he couldn't see her anymore and sighed loudly, catching Susumu's attention.

"Hey!" Tetsunosuke yelled. "I wanna taste that!" He tugged on Tatsunosuke. "Come on!! Let's go!"

The group, minus Din, walked on an hour later when Tetsunosuke turned around towards the two.

"Hey I'll be right back alright?" he said as he turned his back once more. "I'll be right back!"

"Tetsu-kun!" Tatsunosuke yelled.

His call fell on deaf ears; the smaller red head was already halfway down the street with his festival mask on his face. The two of them didn't say anything as they walked towards the wall next to them, and Susumu rested against it. It wasn't until Tatsunosuke bowed down and caused Susumu to raise his right eyebrow did he say anything.

"So what's up with this?" the black haired boy asked.

"I wanted to thank you and apologize to you for everything Tetsu-kun's done to you, and for what you've for him," Tatsunosuke explained.

"It's not big deal." Susumu shrugged with a slight laugh behind his tone. "But I think you should apologize to Tetsu-kun. Everyone else around him is praising him for what he went through, everyone except his big brother, the one who should be the most proud of him."

Tatsunosuke looked away. "You don't understand what's gone on between the two of us."

"Frankly I don't want to," Susumu interjected. "I'm just sayin' that you should take a bit more pride in what your baby brother is doing." Susumu looked down to see Tatsunosuke with his hand outwards. "What's this?"

"I have to apologize for what happened the other day," Tatsunosuke answered with a sigh.

"Too bad you're brother isn't as weak as you'd like him to be." Susumu moved his right hand back. "But why don't I pay you back for what you tried to pull with me?"

Tatsunosuke twitched. "You're going to hit me?"

Susumu laughed. "All you gotta do is block my punch."

His right hand flew out towards Tatsunosuke's face, then his hand changed from a fist to an open hand and he slapped the dark red head on the side of his face. Susumu pulled away quickly, and then rubbed his hand.

"Now go down to the dock, Din-san's waitin' for you down there," he hissed towards the other man. "But before you go, can I ask you somethin'?"

"What?" Tatsunosuke rubbed the side of his face.

"You really like Din-san don't you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ya know, like her."

Tatsunosuke blushed. "I…uh…I."

Susumu laughed sarcastically. "Never mind. Just hurry down to the dock before puppy-kun comes back."

"Thank you." Tatsunosuke bowed once more.

* * *

Tatsunosuke ran as fast as he could down to the dock where the noises from the festival where muffled out and were replaced by the sound of the water hitting the wood and stones over and over again. He looked around and spotted her standing near the third dock, looking outwards towards the water where the sun was just beginning to set.

"Din-chan," he whispered.

He picked up his legs once more and ran towards the woman and slowed down once he got close enough. She turned to look at him and handed him a small piece of candy.

"Thank you." He bowed.

"I come down here everyday to wait for something," she said gently. "Even though I know it's not going to come for a while, I wait." She turned away from him. "Siblings never do what you want them to, and they never come when you call."

"Yeah I know."

"Tatsunosuke-kun, you're doing a wonderful job with Tetsu-kun. Please just keep being his soft spot to land. You're…the best person for that job."

"What do you mean?" He blinked.

Din laughed a bit. "You're one of the best people in the world to talk to. You always listen and take everything to heart. That's why I love talking to you…and why I hate to see you upset."

A heavy blush came over Tatsunosuke's face. No one had ever said something like that to him before and he didn't know how to react to it. He coughed a bit and to avoid saying anything back he shoved the piece of candy in his mouth.

She turned back to him. "I hope that cheers you up a bit."

"Oh," he scratched the back of his head, "yeah it does."

"Good."

She walked towards him and moved forward a bit, telling him to follow her. Figuring that she was right and that they had to get back to the other two before it got dark, he began to walk with her.

"Hey Din-chan?" he began, "Why do you come down here day after day if you don't mind me asking? What are you waiting for?"

"A sign," she answered easily. "Just a sign that it's time to move on."

Not wanting to ask anymore, he walked forward until they walked into a large group of people who pushed passed them, carrying objects from the docked boats, forcing them to press against one another. Tatsunosuke moved towards a wall with Din to try to get out of the way but that just caused them two to become trapped against the wall. They moved carefully until a man pushed against Din, forcing her into Tatsunosuke's chest.

"Sorry Tatsu-kun." She laughed.

"Uh…." He blushed heavily once more. "It's fine."

Another man pushed into her at that moment as the two were talking, pushing her face into his and shoved her lips against his. They both stood there, lips locked and unable to do anything because of the people moving behind them.

Tatsunosuke's heart bet against his chest so hard that he thought it was going to explode as his mind wondered what to do next. He could feel her hands on his chest from when she was shoved on to him and wondered if she could feel his heart pounding away in his chest, or if she was just simply trying to push herself away from him.

Finally the people behind them moved, and Din moved her head back. She blinked for a few moments then backed up a bit and bowed.

"I'm sorry!" she said with a playful tone behind her voice. "I didn't hurt you at all did I?"

Tatsunosuke came back into reality and shook his head back and forth. "No, not at all. Are you okay?"

She felt her lips. "Yeah, I just might have hurt my lip a bit from the impact but I'm fine."

"I'm sorry." He bowed.

"It's okay." She giggled. "Come on, let's hurry up and get out of here before they start moving _more_ things."

"Right." He nodded.

The two began to walk once more, trying to hurry before the next ship came in. Tatsunosuke, though, somewhat wanted to get stuck next to her once more. That was his first kiss in his lifetime from a woman but the back of his mind told him that it had been on accident and didn't count. The more the more he thought about it, the more and more he found his heart beating away. Once he got back with his brother and Susumu, the feeling left and he figured that it was for the best.

* * *

Night had fallen and the fireworks had begun high in the sky. Back at the Shinsengumi, Hijikata, Souji, and Kondo were all sitting on the roof, watching and hoping that the trio wouldn't come up on the roof with them also. Yamanami was sitting in his room, pretending to be sick as he looked out of his back door and saw the highest fireworks.

At the festival, Susumu, the Ichimura brothers, and Din all stood and looked upwards towards the sky. Between the breaks of the firework display, they slowly walked back to the Shinsengumi, until they finally reached it.

"Thanks for asking me to go with you tonight," Din said to Tatsunosuke with a smile. "I really had fun for the first time in a long while."

"Oh you're welcome." Tatsunosuke laughed.

"I'm going to talk to the vice commander now so I'll see you in the morning." Din turned away, but looked back towards him. "Night."

He bowed. "Good night."

"Don't tell anyone about what happened alright?" she asked, causing him to look up in wonder. "I wanna keep it between the both of us." She winked.

Tatsunosuke blushed. "Don't worry."

He watched as she walked away, and sighed. The feeling inside of him had returned but he couldn't figure out what it was. He didn't know whether he liked her or not but thought that he would think it over before he fell asleep so that he didn't have to worry about anything else.

"This is great!" Souji cheered from on top of the roof.

Hijikata looked over towards the other two sitting on the roof with him and smiled. Kondo had seemed to return to his normal self instead of being so distracted, and Souji was now feeling better. He sighed and leaned back onto the roof.

_Things couldn't get any better_. He thought.

"Din-nee!" Souji cheered.

"Hey Souji-kun!" she said happily as she laid down next to him. "Isami-kun, and Hijikata, I'm back."

"Nice to have you up here with us." Kondo passed her a cup of sake. "It wouldn't have been the same without you."

"Thanks." She took the cup and quickly drank from it.

The fireworks started up once more, allowing Hijikata to look at the three people sitting on the roof. For the first time in eleven years, three of the four most important people in his life were sitting all together, watching fireworks just like they used to. He could see the fireworks in their eyes and remembered how they looked the same when they watched fireworks for the first time thirteen years ago. These people were the people who mattered the most to him, and the people who had made the biggest impact on him in the long run. They had all been separated once but fate had brought them all back together.

"Toshi-kun?" Kondo asked.

"What?" Hijikata shook his head, breaking out of his thoughts.

"Nothing." Kondo smiled with a blush from drinking on his face. "You just looked distracted."

"I'm fine." Hijikata looked up towards the sky. "Just fine."

And these were the people, he would protect.

* * *

Tatsunosuke was lying in bed, the lights off around him, and the people sleeping away as usual but he couldn't sleep. All he could think about was Din and how she acted with him. It was more then strange for him when their accidental kiss happened, but a part of him hoped that it meant to her just as it meant to him.

_What a stupid thing to think._ He covered his eyes with his right arm. _Why would something accidental mean something?_

He had never had the time to think about something like this, his love life, because he had never felt this way. She seemed to go out of her way to make sure he was okay, and often complemented him on things that he thought were the most important like Tetsunosuke or work.

_I wonder…_ He began. _If she's with or has an interest in someone else. She got into this place easily but that's because she's good friends with Kondo-sama. Could she be with him? He shook his head. I did hear rumors that Kondo-sama had a mistress but could it be Din-chan? Maybe…I should ask._

Tatsunosuke rolled over onto his right side. Would Din even like someone like him if he had managed to work up the courage to tell her how he felt? How did he feel about her? He kept telling himself over and over again that he _had_ to considerate on his work and couldn't let anything get in the way.

"_Everything will be fine with Tetsu-kun soon but please worry about yourself."_

_Myself._ Tatsunosuke thought. S_he goes out of her way to tell me to worry about myself. No one else has ever done that for me_.

He rolled over onto his other side. Someone was taking care of him, someone making him feel worthwhile. He was worth it.

_Maybe I do like her._ He thought_. I do…

* * *

_

"So how are you feeling?" Hijikata asked as he looked down at Din who was sitting down and leaning against his wall.

"I've just got a low fever," she answered in a low tone. "I'll sleep it off, don't worry about anything."

Hijikata moved his hand down in front of Din's face, and she saw that it was a small sake cup. She looked up at him, and blinked.

"It's medicine. I told you not to go to the festival but you wanted to go, now your fever is acting up again," he hissed, pushing the cup towards her. "Hurry up and take it."

Din gently took the sake cup and quickly drank from it. She shook her head as the medicine touched her tongue, causing a bitter taste. Finished, she gave Hijikata back the cup and leaned her head back.

"Damn that's gross," she hissed.

"Huh." Hijikata turned away. "You wouldn't have to take it if you haven't gone."

"I had too," she insisted.

"Why?"

"Because Tatsu-kun asked me to," she answered as she closed her eyes.

"So?"

"So that's why I went."

Hijikata sighed. "You should know better then going out when you're sick. I can't afford you getting everyone else sick. Yamanami-kun is already—"

"Who cares?" She shrugged.

"Din," he began to rub his temples, "please do as you're told and stay in this room until you're fully recovered. I don't want anyone else getting sick. Tatsu-kun—"

He turned back around to finish his sentence only to see that Din was asleep. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing slowly with her head slightly titled to the side. Hijikata sighed, and then ran his fingers through the top half of his hair.

"I'll make sure to talk to you tonight before bed alright?"

_Souji-kun._ Hijikata thought.

The black haired man walked over to Din and bent down to her, wrapping his arms around her body. With a small moan coming from the woman, he picked her up, and carried her out of the room through the back door. He stepped carefully down the wooden floor, and into Souji's room where he was up, reading a small book.

"Hijikata-sama?" he asked as he looked away from his book. "Din-chan!"

"She's sleeping," Hijikata said.

Walking into the room, he set her down on the second futon Souji had laid out hours earlier. She groaned once more once her body touched the futon, and then stretched out before she finally stopped moving.

"Hijikata-sama," Souji whispered, "is she feeling alright?"

"The medicine I gave her will make her feel much better in the morning." Hijikata turned his back to the younger man. "Thank you Souji-kun, for allowing her to stay in your room."

"No problem." Souji smiled. "You know how I like having her around. But Hijikata-sama, if she finds somewhere to live are you going to let her go?"

Hijikata sighed and began to walk out of the room. "Din can do what she wants. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Souji sighed and looked over towards the sleeping Din. "I just don't want to lose her again. I went a few years not talking to her and those years passed by so slowly."

"Don't worry about it," Hijikata began as he stepped out of the room.

_Hijikata-sama…_ Souji thought when he stepped out of the room completely. _I never want any of you to leave. Never._

* * *

R&R please! 


	18. Letter

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Damn I need to update this more, I'm ten chapters behind. Anyways, thanks for the review! Enjoy. 000-shows a flashback.

* * *

Two days later, everything seemed to have fallen back into its normal form. Everyone was training once more and Tetsunosuke was doing more and more chores for punishment because of the Ikeda-ya incident but he didn't care, he was happy. Everything was fine, until Tetsunosuke was walking up the street from buying more tea and spotted a small brown box in front of the gates of the Shinsengumi.

"What's this?" he asked out loud as he walked towards it.

He picked it up and felt that it was a bit heavy. He blinked, and looked at the top to see whom it was for or who it was from to see sloppy written handwriting he had to squint in order to read.

_To: The Shinsengumi--Din Hinto_

_"Cowgirl"_

_Din-chan?_ Tetsunosuke asked himself as he blinked. _I wonder what's in it? It's kinda heavy._

Feeling like he had to give it to her, he walked back into the main house and began looking around the dojo for the older woman.

"Tatsu-kun?" Din asked, popping her head into the room where the dark red head was working.

"Yes?" he answered as he looked up towards her with a smile on his face.

Din stepped into the room with a pile of papers in her arms. "Yamanami-san wanted me to give you these papers to finish up."

"Oh," he sighed, "thank you."

She stepped over towards him and handed him the papers. Just as she was pulling away, something someone has said to Tatsunosuke reentered his head.

"I heard that you and Yamanami-san weren't getting along," he said as it came to him. "I was wondering what happened if you don't mind me asking?"

Din turned away suddenly and sighed. "I'd rather not talk about it Tatsu-kun. It's something you…won't really understand."

Tatsunosuke blinked. "Din-chan…you know that—"

She shook her head. "I _really_ don't want to talk about it. I know _he's_ someone you respect so I don't want to say anything insulting in front of you."

"What could Yamanami-san have said to make you so angry?" He thought out loud. "I've never had any kind of problem with him."

A flashback of the first time she and Yamanami had gotten into a fight went through Din's mind; she gripped her fists. It had been over something stupid, something about training or dinner, or something little. It was _nothing_ until more of the Shinsengumi came and everything blew up to were it was out of control. Since then everything between them had been different and they had a general hate for one another.

"You don't know the Yamanami-san I know," she hissed. "You don't know the one who's sarcastic and will say _anything_ to get under your skin and cause you to fall…" she stopped. "Forget it Tatsunosuke-kun. Just…_forget it_."

Din stepped away, leaving a stunned and confused Tatsunosuke behind. He sat there, wondering what he said to anger her, and how he could have stopped himself but he couldn't think of anything. What would he do now? Especially now after he had just settled his feelings with her?

* * *

"Din-chan!" Tetsunosuke yelled as he walked through the hallways. "Din-chan! Where are you?"

"What?" she asked with a sigh, coming around the corner.

He held the package up towards her. "This was waiting for you outside."

Din picked up the package and looked at the label. The small red head sat there and watched Din's eyes light up, and a smile cross her face.

She giggled. "Thank you _so_ much Tetsu-kun!!"

He stood in wonder as she turned around and ran off into the kitchen, only to wonder what had made her so happy. There had to be something in that box that made her so happy, and he wanted to know what it was.

* * *

Dinner had been started, and Din was waiting for the water to boil. Dying to know what was inside of the box, she set it on a clean counter and opened it carefully. On top of everything was a note she picked up only to see a ring underneath it. Figuring the note would explain everything; she opened it and began to read.

_Din,_

_Hope this got to you all right. I had Katsu-sensei drop it off 'cause I'm not in town. Inside are some things I found that belonged to your sister. The ring is the ring that tied her to the Choshu, and Yoshida. The rest are things she left Earth bound, but mostly importantly, a letter she wrote to you right before her passing. Don't worry about owin' me anything, just smile when you see me._

Din put the letter down and searched through the box until she found a letter sitting on top of a light pink kimono. She moved the ring sitting on top of it and pulled out the letter. The envelope was a light pink and looked delicate, so Din took care when opening it. The paper inside was white, with ink stains showing through. Din took out the letter and opened it, amazed that it was in such good condition after three years.

_Ready?_ Din asked herself. She hopped onto the counter and took in a deep breath. _Everything will be fine._

Moving her fingers towards the edge as her heart beat away in her chest, she pulled the letter open and instantly recognized her little sister's handwriting.

_Din-nee,_

_If you're reading this, I have to have passed on. I wanted to write you because I wanted you to know why I left to be adopted, and to tell you everything that's happened. I'm with the Choshu now, married to one of three leaders, Yoshida Toshimaro, which is why I am not able to see you anymore. I'm also caring for a small boy whose brother was killed by the Shinsengumi, Suzu. If they found out about you and Hijikata-kun, you would get hurt._

_About Hijikata-kun…he's the reason I left that night. It's childish now that I look back at it but there's nothing I can do about it now. That night, the night I left and chose to be adopted, I left Sanosuke-chan and came around the dojo to see you with Hijikata-kun. You two were talking about how you wanted more then anything to adopt me but couldn't because you weren't married, but how you would get any job you could just to be near me enough to comfort me, even the job of becoming some kind of whore. Hijikata-kun told you that he would never allow it, and that everything would be okay because he wouldn't let anything happen to you. Then I saw you two kiss…then you asked him to marry you. _

_He said no._

_I was so jealous. So angry that he was trying to take the last thing I had in the world away. You were the only person I had to talk to and when I saw you two together, I knew the real reason why you had been working at the Shinsengumi, and why there were nights when I woke up next to you in the orphanage and you were gone. The only thing I could comprehend that night was that you wanted to be with him more then me, because you were always there, so I thought that I would get out of your way. I left, and was adopted by the Choshu who were waiting for an answer from me about adopting. _

_I'm so sorry I was so young and stupid. Now I see how you must have felt but there is nothing I can do now. I just wanted you to know that I never stopped loving you, and I don't hate Hijikata-kun. Sanosuke-chan…I miss him so much but now…everything's so numb with him. I know it's horrible. Inside of this letter is another, which I ask you to give to him please._

_I love you. I do hope with all my heart that you and Hijikata-kun are still in love because I believe that you two loved each other with everything you had. But please if something happens, look after Suzu for me. He's what you had with Souji-kun to me. Please._

_Setsuna Yoshida_

Din felt tears fall down her face before her mind had time to process the letter. She bent over and began to cry as she thought of everything; her sister, the letter, Hijikata, and that night she was talking about. That night had been engraved in her memory since the night it happened. She couldn't forget it even if she wanted too; she remembered everything from the conversation and hated herself for ever having it.

**000000000000000000000**

Twelve years ago, Din and Hijikata were standing outside of the Shinsengumi, Din against the wall of the dojo with her hands over her head. The sky above them was dark, and wind blew cold, hard wind causing Hijikata to look up towards the sky, hoping that it wouldn't rain while they were outside.

"Dammit Toshi," she began, "I can't do this! Something _has_ to be done about Setsuna-chan!! I can't leave her out there like this! There are people wanting to adopt her!"

"What do you want to do about it?" he asked.

"I don't know!" She ran her fingers through her hair. "Dammit but I'll do anything to make sure she doesn't get to leave! I don't care what man I marry!"

She took her hands back and looked at them. They were worn from the work she had been doing over and over again, and so many time she had cut her hands from the fieldwork.

"But what man wants a woman whose hands are as tough as men's? And whose body feels like one?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself. "I might as well just become some kind of whore and call my best customer my husband."

"You can't do that." He sighed. "I won't let you."

"Why the hell am I letting this happen?" she whimpered. "Dammit it if weren't so selfish then maybe I could have married someone else by now and everything would be okay. But no, I had to be here with you because…I love you too damn much to leave."

"Din." Hijikata walked over towards her and placed both of his hands near her head, hiding her. "Setsuna-chan will be _fine_."

"Toshi…" Din looked up towards him and then sighed. "Will you marry me?"

"What?" Hijikata blinked as his mouth dropped open a bit.

"Please?" Din moved both of her hands up to his face and cupped it gently. "If we get married then we can adopt Setsuna-chan and everything will be perfect! I won't have to live with my parents anymore and I can stay here forever!"

Hijikata brought his right hand away from the wall and touched Din's right hand that was on his face. He pulled his fingers down, dragging hers along with it, and Din began to cry.

"I can't," he answered.

Din closed her eyes as her crying became harder. She fell against the wall behind her, taking her hands away from Hijikata's face and bringing them to her own. Hijikata moved forward, and pulled Din into his chest.

"After everything is in order and the Shinsengumi has been settled, everything will be fine," he said gently. "It's too risky to do anything now, and even riskier to bring your little sister into them mix."

"I don't want anything to happen to her. If something does, I'm gonna fall apart! I don't have any other family in this world BUT her," Din whimpered. "All I'll have left that will keep me alive is you."

"Din."

She pulled away from his chest, brought her hands away from her face, and looked up at him with tear trails running down her face. He moved down towards her, and softly pressed his lips against hers, telling her that _he_ still loved her. Happy, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him deeper inwards.

Please. Din thought. Let nothing ever break us apart.

**000000000000000000000**

_Dammit!!_ Din thought as the memory ended._ I if I had never talked to Hijikata, then maybe Setsuna-chan wouldn't have left that night! If only she hadn't seen it! I'm such a failure as an older sister! I let her die! It's all my fault.

* * *

_

Regardless of Din being upset, dinner was served that night and eaten by everyone. Now night had fallen and everyone was getting ready to go to bed when Din found herself looking out of Hijikata's back door.

"Damn," Hijikata cursed as he felt his left shoulder muscle pull once more.

"What?" Din asked, looking back towards him.

"It's my damn shoulder again," he hissed.

Din crawled over towards him, and moved her arms up to his shoulders. Without saying anything, she began to rub his shoulders, and he allowed it. She moved her hands slowly against his muscles, working with them and causing them to relax.

"It's been a while since you've done this," Hijikata said as a slight smile from the relaxation crossed his face. "I'd forgotten how good you were at it."

"That's right." Din smiled. "I always did it after you were done training. But you're shoulders weren't as broad back then."

Hijikata twitched. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I _mean_ that last time I touched you like this, you weren't as built as you are now. You've added on at least ten years of muscle while I was gone," she explained. "I don't know how Souji-kun gets his small hands around your shoulders these days."

He twitched once more as he felt his kimono rub against his skin over and over again. Irritated by that fact, and that his shoulder was really starting to bother him; he pulled down the clothing near his shoulders, surprising Din.

"What's this?" she asked as she looked at his bare shoulders.

"My kimono was bothering me," he answered plainly.

Din sighed, and then began to rub his shoulders this time, allowing him to feel her fingers on his bare back and causing more of a relaxing feeling to overcome him. He sighed, and moved further back against her to increase the feelings.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, not liking the silence.

"Better," she responded. "I should be over this cold soon thanks to you."

"It's my job."

The two grew silent once more as she rubbed his shoulders and he sat there and did nothing. There was nothing the two of them had left to say to one another so they said nothing but after five minutes, Din thought of the one thing she needed.

She stopped rubbing his shoulders. "Hijikata, do you have the ring you gave me ten years ago?"

Hijikata reached down into his kimono where the sash came around and pulled it out, now on a metal chain. He reached back and handed it to her.

"You wouldn't mind if I took it back once more would you?" she asked.

He closed his eyes. "No."

Din didn't bother to look at it, and stuffed it down into her kimono. Getting what she wanted, she stood up and stretched her arms over her head.

"I'm going to clean out Tetsunosuke's ear so it doesn't get infected," she said through a yawn.

"Have fun, I heard the brat squirms around whenever someone touches it." Hijikata pulled his kimono back on.

Din began to walk out of the room, but stopped and turned back around. "Sanosuke-kun may be down in the dumps for the next few days okay? I just thought I should warn you."

"Thanks." Hijikata rolled his eyes.

* * *

_Dear Sanosuke,_

_I love you._

Setsuna 

Sanosuke read the three words over and over again before he lowered the paper and stood in the way of the moonlight and wondered why she could never tell him to his face. He wanted to cry, he wanted to get everything he felt out of the way but nothing was coming to his eyes. He just stood there as her face passed over his memory, then faded away, almost as if she were saying goodbye for the last time.

"Setsuna-chan…," he whimpered. "Why couldn't you…just tell me?"

* * *

Din was sitting down beside Tetsunosuke, cleaning out the wound he had received from fighting with Yoshida. Most of his ear had grown back together, but some areas were still torn and needed to be taken care of.

"So how are you Tetsu-kun?" Din asked as she raised a wet cotton ball to his ear.

"Fine," he answered, moving around a bit. "Din-chan, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She shrugged.

"Well," he moved around once more, "Tatsu-nii was talking to me and telling me how you two got into a fight today."

"We did?" Din blinked.

"_Forget it Tatsunosuke-kun. Just…forget it."_

Din stopped cleaning the small red head's ear and looked away as she remembered. She sighed, and then went back to cleaning the smaller one's ear.

"Yeah, I remember," she finished with another long sigh.

"'Cause I was wondering," Tetsunosuke tired turning towards her but she turned him back around, "if you liked Tetsu-nii."

Din blinked, and stopped cleaning once more. "Why do you ask that Tetsu-kun?"

He blinked. "He just looked kinda hurt when he was talking about you and him getting into that fight. I knew it bothered him so I wanted to know if you liked him enough to talk it over with him."

"Oh." Din giggled a bit, now knowing what kind of "like" Tetsunosuke was talking about. "Don't worry about it Tetsu-kun, I'll talk to him about it in the morning."

"Good." Tetsunosuke grinned. "I don't like it when Tatsu-nii is so down in the dumps."

"I'll fix it." Din pulled Tetsunosuke closer as she began to clean his ear once more. "Now just hold still for a few more minutes and I'll be done."

* * *

Tatsunosuke was putting his day's work away when a sudden spell of dizziness came over him. He stopped moving for a moment, and held his head, waiting for the dizziness to pass.

_I've been working too hard._ He thought while he waited. _Once I get to bed I should be fine._

The world stopped spinning for a moment, and Tatsunosuke stood up only to feel dizzy once more. He began to sweat as he grabbed onto the nearby dresser and waited once more but this time the dizziness became worse.

_What's wrong with me? I know I was feeling strange earlier but…_ He managed to think to himself.

His sweating picked up, and before he could step away or call out for someone, his eyes closed, and he blacked out, unable to do anything for himself.

* * *

R&R please! 


	19. Order

I don't own PMK or any of its characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Update. Yay! My mangas from Japan finally came so now I can finally finish this thing! I need to try to update once a week or something because on my comp I'm on chapter like thirty-three and I'm so behind on this. Oh well. Thanks for the reviews!

Enjoy.

* * *

When Tatsunosuke opened his eyes his vision was blurred, and slowly began to straighten out. He blinked over and over again until his vision completely came back to him.

"Where am I?" he asked randomly.

"Hey Tatsu-kun."

Tatsunosuke moved his throbbing head to his right side to see Din kneeling beside him. She moved towards a small bowl of water, pulled out a white cloth she wrung out, and then placed the cloth on his forehead causing a cool feeling over his hot forehead.

"I've been told to stay by your side until your fever breaks," she said gently once she sat back down. "I also came here to tell you that I'm sorry."

"For what?" he said in almost a whisper.

"Talking to you like I did." She lowered her head. "I shouldn't have talked to you like that, all you were asking was a simple question. I'm sorry."

"It's alright." He managed a small laugh. "I shouldn't have been bothering you that much. I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter." Din shook her head back and forth. "I was waiting for you to wake up to tell you something."

"What?"

"I remembered something. Something that I shared with you a long time ago. I was looking for Setsuna-chan back when I was twenty and I was lead to your father who I was told could help me in my search. I remember when I came to his house you were there. I think you were twelve, and Tetsu-kun was around five or six." She sighed.

"If I was twelve Tetsu-kun would be five," Tatsunosuke said after quickly doing the math.

"Oh." Din leaned against the wall. "I forgot that I had met you once I figured out that you two had survived your parents. I just thought that it was a bit strange."

"I don't even remember that." Tatsunosuke sighed as he looked towards the ceiling, searching his mind for that memory.

"It was at least ten years ago." Din laughed a bit. "Anyway, I'm sorry I got you sick."

"How do you know you did this?"

"Well," Din sat up, "when I went to the Gion Festival with you I was ill. I guess when we kissed you got too close to me. I'm sorry."

"If you were sick why did you go?" He looked over towards her from the corner of his eyes.

"Because you asked me too." She smiled.

He looked away. There again she was going out of her because he asked her to do something. The strange feeling came to Tatsunosuke's stomach once more as he thought about it over and over again. Trying to distract himself, he brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes.

"Something wrong?" Din asked.

"No." Tatsunosuke pulled his hands down and smiled.

"Are you hungry? You haven't eaten anything since last night." Din moved closer towards him.

"Yeah."

"Okay, let me change the bandage on your hand and then I'll make you whatever you want."

"Bandage?" Tatsunosuke looked down towards his left wrist and saw that it had been wrapped up in white bandages. He lifted his hand back up and didn't feel anything, but the minute he moved it inwards, he felt a stinging pain.

"When you fell last night, you sprang your wrist. The swelling has gone down but it needs to be held still just to make sure you don't spring it again." Din reached out and gently touched his hand, then moved it towards her. "So what do you want to eat? I can make you anything."

"Just rice." Tatsunosuke said.

As soon as Din moved his arm, he gritted his teeth down onto themselves and hissed. His right hand gripped the futon underneath him, trying to take some of the pressure off of his teeth.

"I'm sorry, I'll be done in a moment."

Din wrapped the bandage tightly around Tatsunosuke's arm to hold it in place. She let his arm go, and gently placed it down beside him once again, causing all of the pain to stop. She then stood up, and straightened out her kimono.

"Wait." Tatsunosuke grabbed her kimono as she walked by on her other side. "Did my father help you at all in finding your little sister?"

Din smiled and closed her eyes. "Yes Tatsu-kun. Your father helped me a great deal when I needed him to."

"Good."

* * *

"Toshi-kun," Kondo said with a sigh.

"What?"

The two were in Hijikata's room as always, and Hijikata was working on something while Kondo sat across from him but today there was something odd by the way he was acting. He was kneeling down and moving around a lot as if something was bothering him. Hijikata figured it was best to ignore it.

"I have a few things I've been wanting to talk to you about." Kondo confessed. "As you know Din-chan comes in my room every morning to talk to me after she's prepared breakfast and that's how I found out about her feelings for you but this isn't about her feelings with you. This…," he sighed, "Toshi-kun, I think Tatsu-kun is falling for Din-chan."

"What?" Hijikata blinked.

"I think he's falling for her," Kondo repeated.

Before Hijikata could stop himself he started laughing out loud. He thought about it and laughed once more and stopped when he saw Kondo looking towards him as if he wanted some kind of answer.

"You know as well as I do that he could never handle her," he said once his laugh finished.

"Regardless of _that_ fact, I'm worried about what kind of trouble they could get into together."

"You act like she's returned his feelings." Hijikata chuckled a bit at _that_ thought.

Kondo looked away and moved around once more. "She's been spending a lot of time with him and Sannan pointed that out. She dropped out of her duties today to take care of him, she went to the festival with him, she's often seen talking to him, and one night made a special dish for him." He shook his head back and forth. "I don't want her hurting him."

"She _can't_ have any feeling for him," Hijikata said with confidence. "She told me that she still loves me."

"But she…" Kondo look in a large breath, "she loves you because of what you had. I honestly think that she _could_ fall in love with him, after all she fell in love with someone else even though she was looking for you."

"Damn." Hijikata looked away.

"If they fall for one another, Tatsu-kun is at great risk. We don't know everything about her, she still does many things that I don't understand."

"Like?"

"She always goes down to the docks," Kondo answered. "She just goes down there and waits for a bit, then leaves. Other then that she's been getting a few packages she's never talked to me about."

Hijikata shook his head. "I'll talk to her about things."

"Please don't hurt her."

Hijikata rolled his eyes. "I won't."

* * *

Hijikata was now training in the training hall he had closed off to everyone else so that he could train in secret like he wished. He had been training for a half an hour now, and was going to take a break when Din stepped in from the back door.

"Sorry." She sighed. "I didn't know you were in here."

"It's fine." He stopped. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to clean." She stepped into the room, and closed the door. "Isami-kun told me there was something you wanted to talk to me about. What is it if you don't mind me asking."

Hijikata began to swing his wooden sword once more. "Do you like Tatsu-kun?"

"Like how?"

"Are you falling in love with him?" he hissed, rephrasing his question.

Din blinked. "Why are you asking me something like that?"

"I need to know."

Din turned away and crossed her arms. "I don't think that's _any_ of your business."

Hijikata threw his wooden sword down onto the floor and turned towards her. He didn't know why he was so angry with her. Hearing those words just angered him and forced things to come to his head before he could slow himself down.

"Because if he falls for you, you're putting him in danger!" Hijikata yelled. "You're not to fall in love with him!"

Din twitched. "Will you listen to yourself? Calm down before you go around jumping to conclusions!"

"Conclusions? Yamanami, I didn't notice what he was saying so stay away from Tatsu-kun."

Din stepped back a bit. "You're siding with _him_? After…"

"Because he's right."

Hijikata watched as Din's hands came to her mouth in shock and for the first time in ten years, Hijikata saw the face Din made when something someone said cut her deeply. Immediately he knew the damage he had done even though he didn't mean calling her a whore, just that she was hanging around Tatsunosuke too much.

He moved towards her, pushing her against the wall as she lowered her head. He moved until her back hit the wall.

"Din…I—"

Hijikata was cut off by Din's right hand slapping him against the face. The hit caused his head to turn to the right where he watched as she walked out of the room, not bothering to close the door behind herself.

"_Please don't hurt her." _

_Shit.

* * *

_

"_Stay away from Tatsu-kun."_

_Why the hell should I?_ Din thought as she walked through the hallways. _What the hell is his problem? Talking to me like that, who the hell does he think he is?_

Din ignored everyone and walked back into Tatsunosuke's room where she sat down at his bedside, and fell against the nearby wall. She sighed as she looked at the dark red head and began to think everything over. _She_ didn't think she was a whore, but everyone else seemed to think she was.

"Tatsu-kun?" she asked.

"What?"

"Do…do you think I'm a whore?"

His eyes widened. "Why would I think you were something like that? You haven't done anything for me to think that of you."

"Maybe I am." Din sighed. "Maybe it's because of the way I act or something I don't know. I've always been around men but that's because I've always been considered "one of them" whenever I'm with them."

"Well," Tatsunosuke blushed, "I don't consider you a man, and I don't think Okita-san does either. I think that because you're a woman you deserve to be treated better."

"Tatsu-kun." Din blushed as her eyes softened. "I-I."

"I don't think you're a whore," he said once more.

_Maybe because you're the one I'm being a whore with._ Din thought, lowering her head once more. _And you don't even realize it._

"Thank you Tatsu-kun." Din raised her head once more and smiled a fake smile. "You've made me feel a lot better."

* * *

"She did what?" Yamanami's mouth dropped.

"She slapped me across the face," Hijikata hissed, his face still slightly red from Din's hand.

"Toshi-kun, I told you to be gentle with her!" Kondo shook his head back and forth. "What did you say to her?"

"I said that Yamanami-kun was right."

Kondo covered his mouth with his right hand while Yamanami looked away, secretly regretting that he had said something to her that made her feel such a way.

"You said…that she _is_ a whore?" Kondo asked breathlessly.

"Not that!" Hijikata hissed. "I meant that she was spending too much time with Tatsu-kun. She misunderstood me just like you two just did."

"Then are you going to talk to her?" Yamanami asked, getting back into the conversation.

"I don't know." Hijikata looked away. "I should just leave her the hell alone. If she's going to fall in love with Tatsu-kun then she can go ahead and do it. I don't care as long as he doesn't get hurt while he's living under the Shinsengumi dojo."

"Fall in love with Tatsu-kun?" Yamanami blinked. "What's this all about?"

"I think that Tatsu-kun is falling in love with Din-chan, and maybe the other way around also," Kondo explained.

"I thought so." Yamanami sighed. "Hijikata-kun, are you jealous of what's happening between them?"

"Why the hell would I be?" Hijikata said in a rough tone on the verge of yelling.

"Because she told you that she loved you," Kondo finished for Yamanami. "Toshi-kun, tonight I want you to tell her what you meant and that's an order."

"Yes," Hijikata hissed and turned away.

"We can't have this fighting in the Shinsengumi. Din-chan is part of the Shinsengumi now and has been for as long as anyone else here. I don't want any more bickering among any of you." Kondo stood up while he spoke. "This is an order."

* * *

Night had fallen and Din was in the empty training hall, taking her frustrations out by training herself. Her outfit had changed; her kimono was now a pair of black pants that stopped at her knees and allowed her to kick out and high. Her top was a loose, black shirt that cut off at her shoulders and cut low on her chest where laces she had sewn in kept the separated shirt together. Underneath the laces were the bandages she used to keep her chest in place.

The door beside her slid open, causing her to stop and see Hijikata standing there. Not wanting to acknowledge him, she went back into training. He slipped in, and closed the door behind himself.

"What?" she asked as sweat dripped off of her face. "Is this about what Isami-kun ordered you to do?"

"Yes." Hijikata stepped closer towards her.

"Well don't worry about anything. I understand everything now. You can just leave and I'll act like you talked it over with me," she hissed. "Just forget about the whole damn thing."

Hijikata looked away. "I haven't seen you train before," he said, changing the subject.

"I started right after I left for Kyoto. Thanks to Ichimura-san," she answered between breaths.

"He trained you?" Hijikata raised his right eyebrow.

"No. He introduced me to someone who could teach me."

The two became quiet, as Hijikata thought of what he wanted to say to her. He listened to the way she was breathing, and the way her feet hit the floor over and over again as she brought her legs down from kicking and moved forward with her punches.

Hijikata sighed. "I do want to know whether you're falling for Tatsu-kun or not."

Din stopped moving and took a large breath inwards. "Tatsu-kun and I are close because of what's happened between us. He's been there when I really needed someone to talk to, and he's willing to help if I need him to. Maybe…I am falling for him."

Hijikata's eyes widened. He wasn't excepting her to say _that_, a part of him was hoping that she was just going to tell him that she had no interest in Tatsunosuke at all. He didn't know what to feel, angry, jealous, or even hurt so he just stood there and looked towards her.

"But…I'm waiting for someone," she finished. "That someone will take me away from here just like I promised. I'm just waiting. Waiting _again_. Waiting for someone else to come and fix everything."

Hijikata walked towards her and carefully wrapped his arms around her neck, not saying a word to her. She waited to see what he was going to do, and gently sighed as he pulled her closer towards him.

"Promise me you'll tell me before you leave," he whispered.

"I will."

"Promise me you'll tell me when you're falling in love with someone else."

"I promise."

Hijikata closed his eyes. "Promise me you'll never leave."

She was quiet. She pushed back against him, forcing him to remove his arms from around her neck. Walking forward a bit, she turned around and looked Hijikata right in the eyes.

"You know I have to leave," she whispered. "I don't have a choice Hijikata, I have a duty to…someone else."

"Are you saying you don't have a duty to me?"

"What duty?"

"The duty you've had since the day we met."

"Hijikata," Din turned away from him, "the time where I have to leave won't come for at least two years, who knows what could happened between now and then. Please don't force me to give you an answer about leaving now."

"Fine." He looked to his right.

Din coughed. "I have to go and wash. Could you do me a favor and bring me a kimono when I'm done? Usually I'd bring it with me but this time I'm going to do a full body wash."

"Yeah." He sighed.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Hijikata grabbed a nearby kimono and walked out into the back where the well was. There he saw Din, pouring a water bucket over her head, causing her hair to stick to her kimono she was wearing so that she wasn't completely naked. He stopped walking as the water fell down her body and made the kimono stick to her body as well, showing off the curves she had.

That body was the one Hijikata loved to be with. It was the body he held for the first time and gave himself to. He hadn't seen it in ten years, and would once in awhile think about it but here was the first time he had seen it in person for those long ten years.

He shook his head; he had to get her the dry clothing before she caught another cold. He walked over towards her and stood there as she reached back towards him. Holding the kimono out, she grabbed it and dropped the kimono she was wearing.

"Don't you care?" he asked as he studied her body.

"About?" She wrapped the new kimono around herself and tied it.

"Me seeing you?"

"What's to care?" She shrugged. "You've seen me naked over and over again and nothing's changed since then so why should I care?"

Din moved towards the well, grabbed her hair, and twisted it over the well so that all of the excess water fell from it. She then moved back, picked the wet kimono off of the floor and looked back up towards Hijikata, stringing it over the well also.

"What?" she asked.

He looked towards her chest, and to the semi-opened kimono. There he noticed a small burn scar near her right breast that the rest of the kimono hid. He moved out his right hand and slightly moved her kimono to see a small burnt scar in the shape of a butterfly.

"_Oh nothing just a broken butterfly."_

"What?" She pulled the kimono back over the rest of her breast.

Then it came to him; the meaning of the burnt on butterfly. He pulled his hand away and sighed.

"It's in the place where the butterfly was when I first met you," he said through the sigh.

"Yeah." She grabbed her kimono and held it shut as she too looked away. "That's why I got it right after I left you. To remind me that you would come for me." She shook her head. "I'd better get inside, I don't want to get sick again."

"Fine."

Hijikata stepped to the side, allowing Din to walk passed him. She stepped by, said thanks you, and walked back inside to Tatsunosuke's room to make sure he was getting better. Hijikata sighed as the door closed and knew that she was going back to _him_. Figuring that he had better get back to his room as well, he walked up to the dojo and disappeared into his own room.

* * *

R&R please! 


	20. Silence

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thanks for the reviews! This is my weekly update until I catch this thing up with the chapters I have on my computer. More chapters to come later!

Yes, there's an appearance of an OC that I don't own. It is Katsuke from Sleepingelf's PMK story, so check her stuff out while you're here please.

Enjoy!

* * *

"A trip?" Din and Hijikata asked as one.

"Yes." Kondo nodded. "I need the two of you to go and visit the West Hogan Temple and pick up a few papers for me."

Two days had passed since all of the fighting, and Hijikata's apology. Din, Hijikata, Kondo, Yamanami, and Souji where all sitting in Kondo's room where he had asked them to join him for tea.

"I'll need you two to leave in a few hours." Kondo nodded his head.

"Isami-kun, that's a three day trip," Din said blinking. "Why do you want the two of us to go?"

"I know you two will get things done that's why," Kondo answered. "Sannan and I are always leaving so I think that you two need to get out for once."

"Have you hired anyone else to do the housework?" Hijikata asked as he lit his pipe.

"I've divided up the chores," Yamanami answered for Kondo. "Everyone will take turns doing certain things until you get back. I can have my page do a lot of the work."

"You have a page?" Din raised her right eyebrow. "Sine when?"

"For awhile now." Yamanami smiled.

"I want the both of you to wear your training clothes, and I want Din-chan to carry her knifes on her hips to let people know that you _are_ the Shinsengumi," Kondo explained. "Once you're there just tell them who you are and you should get the papers."

"Alright." Hijikata nodded. "Din, go get ready."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"You should too Toshi-kun," Kondo said with a slight laugh.

Hijikata stood up, smoothed out his kimono, and walked over towards the door where he stopped and turned around to the three still sitting down.

"I know you're up to something Isami-kun," Hijikata said with a sarcastic grin. "I'll figure it out."

After his little speech, Hijikata left the room and Kondo sighed loudly. Sensing something was up; Souji moved in towards him and glared at him.

"What are you up to?" Souji asked with a sly tone behind his voice.

Kondo sat up and crossed his arms. "I think that those two need to have some private time together outside of this place. I know that the two of them have a lot to talk about so I figured that I'd let them have some alone time."

"Or was it that _you_ didn't want to go to the temple?" Yamanami asked, pushing his glasses up.

Kondo laughed out loud as he twitched. "Well a part of that's true!!" He stopped laughing suddenly and sighed. "I honestly do think that this trip will cheer the two of them up."

"I hope it does," Yamanami added, causing the other two to twitch.

* * *

Three hours later Hijikata was standing in front of the Shinsengumi gates, waiting for Din to come and join him so that they could leave. Din was walking in the hallways, saying her goodbyes when she bumped into Tatsunosuke.

"Hey Tatsu-kun, feeling better?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his head. "Thank you so much for taking care of me."

"It was a pleasure really." Din bowed. "If you don't mind I have to get going, Hijikata is waiting for me."

"Where are you going?" He blinked, not knowing that she had anywhere to go.

"Isami-kun has asked Hijikata and I to run a chore for him," Din explained as she began to step to the side of the dark red head.

Tatsunosuke blushed. "Are you going to come back?" he asked shyly.

Din's eyes softened. "Yeah I'm coming back. This trip will take three, maybe four days that's it."

"Please be careful."

"I will be."

Din smiled, waved, and then continued to walk down the hallway, leaving Tatsunosuke behind. He watched her until she disappeared then sighed. It was strange; he hated to hear that she was leaving or that she was busy because he wanted to talk to her as much as possible. The thought if his previous thought told him that he was being to strange so he ignored his feeling.

"So are you upset?"

Tatsunosuke looked to his right to see the trio standing there, which he had failed to notice come around because he was so deeply involved with his thoughts.

"Upset about what?" Tatsunosuke asked.

"About Din-chan leaving?" Sanosuke answered, moving his face towards the dark red head's.

He turned away. "Why would I be?"

"Because you like her!" Heisuke laughed.

Tatsunosuke blushed and looked away as Souji exited Kondo's room and walked right into the group.

"So do you Tatsu-kun?" Shinpachi teased. "Come on you can tell us if you like her or not! After all we're the ones who tried you together with Din-chan so you can at least tell us what you're feeling!"

"I-I," Tatsunosuke blushed, "I think I've come to terms with my feelings and I do like her."

Those words ran through the hallways and hit everyone in a different manner. The trio began laughing with one another while Souji twitched and his eyes widened.

"Way to go Tatsu-kun!" Sanosuke hit Tatsunosuke on the back. "Now we just gotta get her to admit her feelings for you and we're set!"

"Please," Tatsunosuke stepped passed them all, "I have something to do. Please excuse me."

The trio watched as Tatsunosuke stepped by them and began to giggle amongst themselves. They began talking, congratulating one another for the job they had done so far and didn't even notice Souji walking towards them.

"What are you three trying to accomplish?" Souji asked, stopping their conversation.

"What?" they asked at once.

"Why are you trying to get Tatsu-kun with Din-chan?"

"Don't you think that they'd be cute together?" Heisuke asked playfully.

"No," Souji said suddenly causing everyone to look at him strangely. "I don't think that. Do you understand what would happen if the two of them got together?"

The trio shook their heads back and forth.

"You know about Hijikata-sama's past with her and don't you understand how he would react if they were together?" Souji narrowed his eyes.

The trio shook their heads back and forth once more.

"There would be an unleashing of drama and awkward situations!" Souji said turning away from them. "Stares and glares, everything would be so strange! Would you want to do that to the people in the Shinsengumi? Besides what if Tatsu-kun found out about Hijikata-sama's past with Din-chan? What would happen there?"

"Is that it?" Sanosuke asked.

"What if Hijikata-sama's constant stares at Tatsu-kun might cause him to leave and what if Din-chan leave with him?" Souji sighed. "I couldn't bear it if she left again."

The trio looked at one another and blinked. Shinpachi took a gulp and opened his mouth to say something when he spotted Tetsunosuke standing behind Souji with his eyes wide open.

"Tetsu-kun?" Shinpachi asked as he pointed.

Everyone turned around to Tetsunosuke as he stepped into the group and looked directly up at Souji.

"Tatsu-nii is going to leave with Din-san?" he asked with a low tone.

Souji blinked. "No Tetsu-kun I was just saying that Tatsu-kun really likes Din-chan and—"

Tetsunosuke's eyes widened and he then lowered his head, causing the older man to stop talking. Souji stopped talking and bent down to talk to him only to have him pull away, then run behind him. Souji looked away from him, and back towards the trio.

"I shouldn't have said anything." He sighed.

* * *

Din was just about to walk out of the Shinsengumi when she spotted someone she had never seen before. She stopped and looked at the young man, when he saw her looking back at him.

He was slightly shorter then her, with purple hair that had been tied back into a bun with a few strands hanging in front of his face. He was wearing a yellow kimono that fit loosely off of his body, hiding any sort of muscle. Din blinked, trying to remember if she had ever seen him when she walked over to him.

"Are you Yamanami-san's page?" Din asked raising an eyebrow.

He turned her to and looked around. "Yeah. Who are you?"

"Din. You?"

"Katsuke," he answered, and then turned away to finish the work he was doing.

Din twitched. "You're supposed to bow to your elders."

"Yeah, yeah." He moved his right hand back and forth.

Din covered her mouth and laughed. Wondering what was so funny, Katsuke turned around to her and blinked.

"What's so funny?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"You're cute!" Din answered through a laugh. "I'll have to keep an eye on you. Have fun doing laundry and cooking while I'm gone!"

"Cooking?" Katsuke groaned. "This is gonna be harder then I thought."

* * *

"Tatsu-nii!!" Tetsunosuke yelled, running through the hallways. "Tatsu-nii!! Where are you?!"

"In here!" Tatsunosuke answered.

Tetsunosuke ran into the nearest open door to find his brother working on papers as usual. He ran in and stood in front of Tatsunosuke as he stopped working and looked up at him.

"What is it?" he asked with a small smile.

"Are you leaving with Din-chan?" Tetsunosuke asked with a harsh tone behind his voice.

"No. Why would I?"

Tetsunosuke gripped his fists. "Because you like her!"

Tatsunosuke blushed. "Tetsu-kun it's alright. I'm not going to leave."

"Yes you are!" Tetsunosuke took a step forward. "She's going to take you away from me just like she has been! She's always with you! You're never with _me_ anymore Tatsu-nii! It's not fair! I know she's going to take you away from me!"

He was so jealous and he just couldn't stand it anymore. Just hearing Souji say something like that caused feelings he couldn't figure out to rise up in him. He didn't want to do this, he just wanted Tatsunosuke to be his brother and he didn't want anything to change. Forever Tatsunosuke had been _his_ older brother and he didn't want anything different, he was so scared that Tatsunosuke would leave just like his parents.

"Tetsu-kun."

Tatsunosuke looked away. He was causing his smaller brother pain, the only person who mattered in the whole world. He was getting upset because he had chosen someone else over his little brother. Tatsunosuke felt so guilty for it. He felt so low, and so stupid that he could only think of one thing to fix everything.

"Don't worry Tetsu-kun." He sighed.

"How can I not worry!?" Tetsunosuke walked over to his brother and grabbed his kimono. "She's going to leave and take you with her! You can't leave me! She's always talking about when she's going to leave and I don't want you to go too!!"

"Don't worry," he smiled only to find that it stung somewhere inside of his gut, "I just won't be around Din-chan as much."

"But you like her." Tetsunosuke stepped away from him.

"It's okay. Everything will be fine Tetsu-kun."

* * *

The trio was out walking around the village, talking and buying small things for themselves as they walk around.

"Do you think it was right of us to try and get them together?" Sanosuke asked, breaking the silence between them.

Heisuke sighed. "I don't know. It seemed like such a good idea at the time but now…I don't know about it. I didn't really think about what Tetsu-kun would really think."

Shinpachi shrugged. "What are we worried about? It's not like Tatsu-kun is going to stop liking Din-chan or anything. If he really likes her then he'll talk to Tetsu-kun about everything. Right?"

Sanosuke and Heisuke sighed at once. Shinpachi watched as they looked away from one another, and back towards the path. He knew what they knew, that Tatsunosuke was possibly going to take back what he had said, and he found it rather disappointing.

_I hope we haven't done anything too bad._ Shinpachi thought.

* * *

The three days passed by quickly without much notice. Everyone did their thing while some people did more then that had done before to make up for Din and Hijikata's missing. Tatsunosuke was barely seen except for dinner and lights out when he didn't say anything to anyone and just simply did whatever he was supposed to do. Tetsunosuke acted as if nothing had changed because he was secretly hoping that only a few things would change once Din came back home, and the trio avoided the subject all together.

Din and Hijikata on the other hand had made it all the way to the temple without fighting, hurting one another or someone else. They mainly just talked to one another while traveling about nothing and things they remembered. Nothing too big, and nothing too small.

The two, Din and Hijikata, walked back into the Shinsengumi. Hijikata walked off to is room while Din walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. Unknown to her, Tatsunosuke was standing in the kitchen, looking for something to eat that tasted better then Shinpachi's cooking.

"Tatsu-kun!" Din said happily as she spotted him. "Hi! I've missed you!"

"Oh." Tatsunosuke looked away. "Din-chan, I have to talk to you in private."

Din blinked and relaxed. "Okay."

Tatsunosuke led Din back into his work area where he closed all of the doors, and then turned around to her.

"Din-chan, I don't think I should be hanging around with you as much," Tatsunosuke said, the stinging, sickening feeling coming back to his stomach.

Din blinked, confused and tried to look him in the face only to have him lower his head to hide his eyes.

"Why?" she asked.

"Tetsu-kun…is worried that I'm hanging around with you too much and he's getting jealous," Tatsunosuke answered with a small laugh, trying to make things easier for the both of them.

_I was so jealous. So angry that he was trying to take the last thing I had in the world away. You were the only person I had to talk to._

Din's eyes widened as she remembered Setsuna's letter. What if Tetsunosuke started to feel the same way Setsuna had that day she ran away? He could get up and leave, making the same mistake Setsuna had made but later when she was mature enough to understand how she felt. Tetsunosuke didn't act or seem as if he would be able to understand his feelings, and might soon end up like Setsuna.

"Alright." Din looked away. "I can see where you're coming from, I guess I'll cut down on talking to you then."

Tatsunosuke bowed. "Thank you for understanding Din-chan."

Din moved a piece of her hair back behind her ear. "No problem." She turned away. "I'll talk to you later Tatsu-kun."

Before Tatsunosuke could say anything his mind told him not to but his stomach did, Din walked out of the room, and closed the door behind herself. Tatsunosuke looked away, and held his stomach as the feeling of pain came back strongly. He gripped his fists as his mind told himself that he was doing the right thing but his stomach _kept_ bothering him.

_Din-chan…_ Tatsunosuke thought, lowering his head once more._ I'm so sorry.

* * *

_

A week later, Tatsunosuke hadn't seen Din at all personally. She of course said hello when she walked by him during the day and whenever she ran into him outside but other then that, she hadn't gone out of her way like she used to. He hadn't really been doing anything of much either besides work. He mostly kept to himself about everything while Din just hung out with Hijikata in her free time.

"Din." Hijikata asked the woman who was sitting in his room, looking outwards towards the backyard.

"What?" She sighed.

"Shouldn't you be doing something?" he asked. "I mean you've been in here with me a lot."

"Yeah I guess." Din stood up and dusted herself off. "I'm going out alright? I'll be home in time to make dinner."

Hijikata didn't say anything as she stepped off of the wooden flooring, walked to her right, and then disappeared. When he heard her footsteps fade away, he sighed and leaned back against his wall.

_She's been this way ever since Tatsu-kun opened his mouth to her._ He thought, closing his eyes. _This whole thing is so stupid._

* * *

Susumu walked passed Tatsunosuke's room and stuck his head into the room to see him sitting down, looking out towards the backyard with a deep lingering behind his eyes. Susumu coughed, and Tatsunosuke looked over to him.

"Sorry, can I help you?" Tatsunosuke asked.

"Just wonderin' where Din-chan was." Susumu moved his hand back and forth. "Don't mind me. You have any idea where I could find her?"

"No." Tatsunosuke looked away. "We haven't been talking so I don't know her schedule any more."

Susumu blinked. "Why not?"

"It's a long story."

Susumu stood there for a moment, and began to figure it out from what the others had been telling him. He had heard Hijikata talking to Yamanami and Kondo about it just barely but figuring that Tetsunosuke was _always _causing issues, he came to the conclusion that he had something to do with it.

"Thanks anyway." Susumu turned away from him and walked away, leaving Tatsunosuke to his work as always.

Wanting to find the smaller Ichimura, he walked through the Shinsengumi until he found him outside by the well, washing clothes. Thinking that no one but Tatsunosuke had talked to him, he walked over and coughed.

"So what's goin' on between your brother'a and Din-chan? I haven't seen them together for a while now." Susumu grinned, knowing that Tetsunosuke was going to get angry.

"I don't know." Tetsunosuke twitched.

"Oh I think you know."

Tetsunosuke shook his head. "What happened was that I asked Tatsu-nii not to talk to Din-chan as much that's all."

"Why?"

"'Cause Okita-san was talking about Din-chan leaving and him going with her because he likes her!" Tetsunosuke yelled as he turned to face Susumu. "I don't want him to leave! He's always talking to her and…"

"And?"

Tetsunosuke looked away. "I don't know."

"Look," Susumu crossed his arms, "why don't you sit back for once and let your brother'a do something for himself for once?"

"What?" Tetsunosuke blinked.

"Tatsu-kun's been taking care of you ever since your parents died and hasn't been doin' something for himself." Susumu began. "Now that you're off fighting against his will and doing something for yourself, don't you think it's time that he did somethin' for _himself_? Quit holdin' on so much to him and let him do somethin'."

Tetsunosuke shook his head back and forth. "You don't understand!"

"Oh I understand. You want Tatsu-kun to let you go but you're holdin' onto him, doesn't that sound a bit selfish?" Susumu closed his eyes. "All of us little brother'as have to let the older ones go soon but they're always standin' right there when you need 'em so there ain't nothin' to worry about."

Tetsunosuke took in what Susumu was saying, and knew that he knew what he was talking about because all he had been through when Ayumu died and through being her little brother. He thought about what he was doing, and how Tatsunosuke was always working to keep his job here so that they could both live here, and how all he had done was disobey Tatsunosuke and cause him worry.

"Din-chan was someone Tatsu-kun really liked, and liked in a way he hasn't liked someone in years. You like begin' Saya-chan right?"

The small red head blushed. "Yeah."

"Well Tatsu-kun likes being around Din-chan just like you like being around Saya-chan. Tatsu-kun…" Susumu sighed, "might even end up fallin' in love with her."

Tetsunosuke's eyes widened. It was then that he realized how he must have hurt Tatsunosuke, and how his older brother might be feeling. Someone had finally sat him down and told him how Tatsunosuke was feeling when Tatsunosuke feared pushing his smaller brother away, Susumu had finally just spelled it out for him.

"Dammit." Tetsunosuke broke away from Susumu and ran back into the dojo, leaving Susumu with a slight smile on his face.

_People in this place sure are slow_. He thought.

* * *

R&R please! 


	21. Thoughts

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Weekly update, nothing really other then that. This is the last chapter of the first series of manga, and the start of the second. Here is where the real drama will start! Hahaha!

Enjoy!

* * *

Tetsunosuke ran as fast as he could towards the room where his brother was always working. His feet slid on the ground, as he tried to stop causing him to catch his balance once more. Gaining his stamina back, he ran into the room, panting from his sprint.

"Tatsu-nii!" Tetsunosuke yelled, catching his attention.

"What?" Tatsunosuke answered with a heavy sigh.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier!" Tetsunosuke moved his head back and forth. "I shouldn't have said something like that about someone you like so much. Please Tatsu-nii, go talk to Din-chan!"

"Tetsu-kun." Tatsunosuke blinked. "It's okay really, everything's fine."

"No!" Tetsunosuke hissed. "Go talk to Din-chan! I know she likes you and it's not fair for the two of you not to talk to each other!"

The elder Ichimura blushed. "She…likes me?"

Tatsunosuke put his pen down and stood up. He walked over towards his smaller counter part and smiled, telling him that everything really was okay now. Tetsunosuke smiled back at him, while Tatsunosuke walked away from him and over to Hijikata's room. There he stood and took in a large breath before he knocked.

"Enter!" Hijikata hissed.

Tatsunosuke opened the door and bowed. "Hijikata-sama, do you know where Din-chan is? I have something I need to speak to her about."

Hijikata shrugged. "Beats me, she left a while ago."

Tatsunosuke twitched. "Thank you sir."

The dark red head closed the door and sighed. He could only think of one more place Din could have gone without being in the dojo. Hoping that she would be there, he slipped out of the Shinsengumi and ran down to the docks.

He was running as fast as he could while taking a few breaks between his sprints. As the sun began to set, he finally made it down to the docks, and ran passed the spot where the two had shared an accidental kiss, and to an open spot where the land and water met before it slipped down to a cliff. There he saw Din sitting down, looking out towards the water.

"Din-chan," he whispered.

Hearing the small whisper, Din turned around to see Tatsunosuke standing above her, panting from his run. The feeling inside of Tatsunosuke's stomach came over him once more but this time, it told him to do something. For the first time since it began, he listened to the strange feeling in his stomach and ran towards Din.

"Tatsu-kun—"

He tackled her, wrapping his arms around her as the two of them hit the floor. He just couldn't hold back any more, he was now lying down on top of her as she placed her weight on her hands and pushed herself up.

"Tatsu-kun!" she said in surprise. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," he said, looking her in the eyes. "I didn't mean to push you away Din-chan, please forgive me."

"What about Tetsu-kun?"

"He's fine. It's just that he—"

Din placed her finger over his mouth, cutting him off and causing him to blush. "I think I understand Tatsu-kun. I'm happy you're talking to me once more, I missed being with you."

Tatsunosuke pulled away from her. "I never wanted to stop talking to you."

Din sat up. "I didn't want to talk to you at all because I was worried that Tetsu-kun was going to walk in and get upset. I thought it was the same way with you."

Tatsunosuke blinked. "I guess I did that too."

"I missed you Tatsu-kun."

He blushed a bit. "I missed you too…Din-chan."

Din moved her right hand into her kimono and pulled a small white box out. "I guess I can give this to you now."

She handed the small box to Tatsunosuke, who blushed and took the box. He sat there for a moment, and grabbed the top of the box, not sure of what to do next. Looking up towards Din who smiled back at him, he lifted the top of the box to reveal a small, sliver chain inside with an old coin attached to it.

"I've been meaning to give it to you," Din said as Tatsunosuke lifted the chain outside of the box. "The coin is the lucky coin I got from your father. We went to go and pray at a temple but I didn't have enough money to pray so your father gave me two coins; one for my prayer and one for Setsuna-chan. I made my wish, this is Setsuna-chan's coin."

Tatsunosuke looked at the coin. "Din-chan…I don't know if—"

"Take it." Din smiled. "My wish was for Setsuna-chan to come home and she's never going to use it so I want you to have it. It's just something that I hope will remind you of your father."

Tatsunosuke placed the coin in his hand and closed his fist over it. Din moved, and laid down against the grass as he sat up and watched the water hit the dock over and over again while the coin stayed in his hand.

"Thank you Din-chan," Tatsunosuke said with a sigh. "I don't have many things that belonged to my father or mother."

"Your father," Din began, closing her eyes, "helped me a great deal. I would have died if he hadn't done for me what he did. I just feel stupid for not noticing that you are his son. I mean you look just like that good looking devil and I didn't notice at first."

Good looking? Tatsunosuke blushed. He hadn't been called that before and the strange feeling came back to his stomach.

"Tatsu-kun?"

Tatsunosuke shook his head and came back into reality. "Yes?"

"In two years, I'm leaving," Din said as the wind blew. "I'm going somewhere else in Japan, a place where I'm guaranteed food and a home. When I leave, I want you and Tetsu-kun to come with me."

He blinked. "Din-chan I—"

"You don't have to make a choice right now." Din opened her eyes slightly. "It's two years away. I want you to come because something is going to happen within the Shinsengumi and I don't want to lose either of you. Just think about it."

He looked away from Din and back at the coin once more. He didn't know what to think; his mind was blank about the whole thing. He kept thinking that he would think about it later but it was a big choice to make and a part of him thought that he had to make the choice now.

"Where are you going?" he asked finally.

"A place in Japan where no one can touch us," Din answered. "It's just a simple place but don't worry, it's more then two years away. By the way," Din reached back into her kimono, "I found _this_ when I was going through some of my things that survived the fire."

She handed Tatsunosuke a small picture. He took it and looked at it to see that it was of a young Din, his father, mother, him and Tetsunosuke. They were standing in front of his old house, Tetsunosuke in his mother's hands and him standing in front of his father, looking slightly irritated.

"I don't remember this…," he said as he studied the picture.

"You were twelve." Din sighed. "I have another picture just like it, I thought you might want that one."

He looked at it, the only real picture he had of his family and found himself wanting the picture. It was just a simple thing but it embodied how he and Tetsunosuke once lived, and how his parents looked.

"I'll take it." He turned to her and bowed. "I can't thank you enough."

"Just smile." She turned to him and smiled. "Your smile is payment enough. I love to see you happy."

Tatsunosuke blushed once more but a smile managed to cross his face. Din laughed as he smiled, causing his smile to grow more until he found himself laughing as well, for no apparent reason.

The two of them sat there, talking and laughing until the sun finally set, and Din had to get home to make dinner. They walked home, catching up on things they had missed when they weren't speaking to one another and gossiping about people around the Shinsengumi. Nothing too much but a lot to both of them.

* * *

Meanwhile in Hijikata's room, Kondo sat down with Yamanami. Hijikata didn't pay much attention to the two until Kondo spoke.

"How do you feel about this Toshi-kun?" Kondo asked. "With Din-chan and Tatsu-kun I mean."

"I don't really care." Hijikata took a puff off of his pipe. "There's nothing I _can_ do even if I wanted to."

"Speaking of her, I've made up with Hinto-san," Yamanami announced randomly. "We've talked things over and we're getting along as well as we're going to."

"Good." Kondo smiled. "Everyone is getting back to their normal selves! Hopefully now all of the gossip and bad talk will stop."

"Gossip?" Hijikata raised his right eyebrow.

"You haven't heard any of it?" Yamanami asked in surprise. "There are a lot of rumors going around the training halls about all kinds of things. You and Hinto-san being together now and Tatsu-kun trying to break you up, Tetsu-kun breaking his brother's relationship up, and that Hinto-san is going out with you _and_ Tatsu-kun."

"Wow…" Hijikata blinked.

"Let's just hope that things will get better between everyone from here on end." Kondo nodded his head. "I don't think any of us wants something more to happen. Sannan, to make sure nothing else happens, have you found those papers on Setsuna-chan yet?"

Yamanami shook his head. "I can't find them. Tatsu-kun is always there in the filing room but now that he's talking to Hinto-san once more I'll have more of a chance of getting in there and looking for it."

"We can't let Tatsu-kun or Din find those papers." Hijikata hissed, taking another puff. "If either one of them finds that stupid piece of paper then Din's gonna take off again."

Yamanami looked at Hijikata. "You don't want her to leave?"

"No why would I?" Hijikata closed his eyes.

"Because," Yamanami moved his right hand over and over again, "you hate her don't you?"

"That doesn't mean I don't want her around." Hijikata let out a puff of smoke. "As far as I care she can stay as long as she wants. She can even date someone here I don't care."

"_Really_?" Kondo asked, moving in towards the demon. "Come now Toshi-kun! I remember back when we were younger and you two had just met and she had gone somewhere else with another boy! You were so jealous!"

"I remember that!" Yamanami raised his right hand with his index finger upwards. "It was that Shikamura boy from down near the river! Even _I_ remember you being jealous about that."

"We were screwing back then." Hijikata grinned. "_That's_ why I was angry."

"But it was when you had first met!" Kondo covered his mouth while Yamanami's dropped to the floor.

"It was three months of us knowing each other that we first had sex." Hijikata shrugged. "I just told you six because Din didn't want you to think that she was easy."

"Oh!" Kondo laughed. "I never would have thought something like that of her! She's one of my best friends!"

"Getting back to the subject," Hijikata took the pipe out of his mouth, "you know as well as I do that I'm going to get a bit jealous."

"Naturally," Kondo interjected.

"Just don't let Din know anything. If she finds out then I'll never hear the end of it."

Kondo smiled. "It won't leave this room."

* * *

Later on that same night, Din was sitting in Hijikata's room, looking outside towards the backyard while he sat in the back finishing off his rice from that night's dinner. She sighed, and he knew something was up.

"Are you talking to Tatsu-kun now?" Hijikata asked, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," she answered.

"Then what's wrong?"

Din leaned her against the wall. "I don't feel useful. There's no point in me being here anymore."

Hijikata put his food down. "What are you talking about?"

"Anyone can cook a bowl of rice. I can't do _anything_. I couldn't find Setsuna-chan and now she's gone and…," she sighed once more, "I can't even give anyone children. The one thing I really want to do."

Hijikata got up and walked over towards her, standing in front of her and causing her to look up at him. They looked at one another for a few moments, and then Hijikata moved to sit down next to her, his back to the wall.

"Souji-kun would be jealous if you had kids." Hijikata sighed. "He's even jealous that Tetsu-kun likes you so much."

"Souji-kun is like my little brother." Din brought her knees to her chest. "There were times where I wondered if he was ever going to get older mentally. When you brought him home from the first time he killed someone, it took me weeks to get him to talk to me once more. But when he did he acted like nothing was different."

Hijikata looked away, and then thought of something he had been meaning to ask her ever since she had said it to him.

"What did you mean by that I feel like home to you?" he finally asked. "And that you knew in your heart that I hadn't died yet?"

"You feel like home because you make me happy," Din explained. "There's something about you that still makes me feel exactly the way I felt when I first met you. You make me happy and even though you're a pain in the ass, talking to you still makes my heart skip a beat."

"How do I still make you feel that way?"

She smiled a bit. "Because I still love you and I always will."

Hijikata looked away. "What about the other one?"

"There's supposed to be this feeling when people you love get hurt or die and during those ten years we didn't see each other, and those seven I was told you were dead I never felt it once." Din closed her eyes. "It's like a sixth sense I've been told."

"Did you feel anything with Setsuna-chan?"

Din opened her eyes once more. "I remember a time three years ago when I had a horrible stomach ache for an hour. When I sat down and thought about it, I didn't want to acknowledge it. But now I see what it was. Tatsu-kun seems to have that sixth sense about his little brother but it always helps him. Now let me ask _you_ something, what did you mean by "how can I mean _that_ much to you"?"

Hijikata now looked outside. "You told me that you hated me and then you tell me you love me. How can someone who tells you that everything's over still mean something to you? How can you tell someone that you'll always love them?"

"Won't you always love me?" she asked, blinking.

The two became silent. Din sat there waiting for an answer, while Hijikata tried to think of something that would get him out of this mess without getting them into another fight. He couldn't think of anything. She looked up at him and saw him thinking about his answer and slightly smiled.

_Idiot._ She thought.

Gently she leaned over onto his shoulder, resting her head on it softly. He looked at her the minute the two touched, then sighed and looked back towards the backyard, enjoying the feeling of having someone close to him.

* * *

Tetsunosuke ran through the halls of the Shinsengumi the next morning, looking for his older brother who hadn't come to bed the night before. He ran into Tatsunosuke's work room to find him asleep on his papers.

"Tatsu-nii!" he called, waking his brother. "Did you forget what today was?"

"No." Tatsunosuke rubbed his eyes. "Happy birthday Tetsu-kun."

"I'm gonna go tell everyone else!" Tetsunosuke turned around.

"Don't forget about your chores!" the elder called out.

"Not on my birthday!" Tetsunosuke yelled as he ran off to go and brag to the trio and anyone else he could get to listen.

Sixteen years old. Tatsunosuke thought as he listened to his younger brother run away. He's getting old.

Tetsunosuke ran into the kitchen where Din stood cooking and tugged on her kimono. She placed the lid on what she was working on and turned to him.

"Happy birthday," Din said with a smile. "What do you want me to make you for dinner? I'll make anything you want."

"Uh," Tetsunosuke blinked, "I don't know. Just make me a stew then."

"Sure." Din nodded.

"Um, Din-chan…" Tetsunosuke began. "I came in here to say that I'm sorry for what happened between you and Tatsu-nii. It was all my fault."

Din laughed gently and bent down towards him. "Don't worry about anything. Everything's better now Tetsu-kun, but thank you for apologizing."

Tetsunosuke smiled. "It was nothing really. Now please excuse me, I have to go talk to someone."

He ran off, leaving Din alone who smiled as he ran. In the short time she had been in the Shinsengumi she had noticed Tetsunosuke's growing. He was becoming a man, brave, responsible, and dropping his childhood habits. It was amazing.

Tetsunosuke ran over to the trio who jumped on him and began hitting him each sixteen times, and laughed every time they did it. Tetsunosuke yelled and screamed but loved every minute of it. The rest of the day was spent in a good mood and when night fell, Tetsunosuke was allowed to eat in Hijikata's room with Tatsunosuke, Din, Hijikata, Kondo, Souji, the trio, and Yamanami.

"You're finally sixteen!" Shinpachi said as he hit the small red head once more. "Does that mean that Tatsu-kun will let you date a girl now?"

"What?" Tatsunosuke twitched.

"No!" Tetsunosuke laughed. He took a large bite of his food and smiled. "This is great Din-chan!"

"Thank you." Din smiled. "I'm happy you like it."

"Hey," Tetsunosuke looked towards Hijikata, "can I start training with everyone else now? I'm practically an adult!"

"No," Hijikata answered, causing Tetsunosuke to twitch. "A brat is always a brat."

The night was calm on the outside while on the inside of the Shinsengumi, laughter and loud bangs could be heard into the early morning. That night was the night where everyone got a long for the first time in a long time without awkward moment or a slight snipping at someone. After everything that had happened, everyone was happy and the peace seemed to want to stay forever.

* * *

R&R please! 


	22. Odd

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thanks for the reviews! I'm so happy because my Bleach DVD finally came in the mail so I can finally watch it and start on my fanfic for that series. Anyways, hehehe, this is where everything is going to get good!

Enjoy!

* * *

Three months had passed since Tetsunosuke had turned sixteen and things couldn't have been better in the Shinsengumi. No one had gotten in a large argument or snipped at one another; everyone was getting along well. Yamanami and Din were talking full time, as well as her and Hijikata. Tatsunosuke spent his free time with Din or Tetsunosuke and always enjoyed it, while Souji came closer to Din from having her sleep in her room every night. Everything seemed almost perfect until September rolled around. That was when everything would change for the worst.

"Hurry!" Souji said as he stuffed Tetsunosuke into a closet. "Hirai-sama will be here any minute!"

Susumu walked into the room with a red wig on and a scar across his face. "Hurry up already Tetsu-kun!"

Souji managed to get Tetsunosuke into the closet as Hirai, his daughter, and Hijikata came into the room, laughing. Not knowing where to go, Souji hid in the closet as well and covered Tetsunosuke's mouth. Susumu quickly left the room and waited for his signal.

"Splendid work at the Ikeda-ya sir," Hirai said as he sat down across from Hijikata.

"Your words are too kind," Hijikata said in a friendlily tone. "I offer you thanks on behalf of Kondo-kun."

"I've heard you like a demon in battle," Hirai began once more.

"We merely did enough to fulfill our duties." Hijikata looked towards the young daughter, she blushed heavily.

"Ah! I almost forgot! I don't see your page! I wanted to meet him—"

Hirai was cut off by Hijikata's gentle laugh. "I do not think he is _worthy_ enough to meet you Hirai-sama!" Stepping echoed through the nearby hallway. "Oh, it would seem that he has arrived."

Susumu walked into the room fully dressed as Tetsunosuke, fooling Hirai and his daughter. They both sat there shocked to see that the rumors they had heard were so different from the truth.

"Tetsunosuke Ichimura, my new page." Hijikata pointed to him.

"My name is Ichimura." Susumu bowed. "I am honored to meet you."

Susumu bent down and began serving tea to the two guests while keeping his head down to show respect.

"No, no the honor is all mine." Hirai laughed. "But this is very surprising, you see I've heard so many rumors about you two and another person. It's funny that they've turned out so _wrong_. I'd heard that Hijikata-sama was a "demon inside and out" "a yakuza with wild hair."

Hijikata laughed. "It is truly as they say."

"Father!" the daughter said as she turned to him.

"And I'd heard that Ichimura-san is "a cannonball that never hits the enemy," "a pup in warrior's clothing". Such ridiculous stories! I've also heard that you have a woman working here that you've taken a liking to!" Hirai continued.

"No they are true," Susumu interjected as Hijikata twitched slightly at the mention of a woman. "I still make many mistakes."

Tetsunosuke twitched in the closet while Souji covered his mouth as well as his own to make sure that his laughter didn't slip out and give away everything.

After more talking, Hirai and his daughter left to go about their business elsewhere. Hijikata waited until the two of them were gone to light up his pipe and begin smoking.

"Man," he hissed, stretching outwards. "I've had enough of that "yakuza" rumor. At least he was polite. Wasn't he Yamazaki-kun?"

Susumu reached upwards and slipped the wig off of his head. "As bad as the rumors are about you vice commander, even more leaked out about Ichimura. Some even got out about Din-chan."

"You did a nice job on that wig," Hijikata said, changing the subject.

"I made it with animal hair, not human hair."

Suddenly loud bangs came from the closet, and Tetsunosuke and Souji emerged, Souji laughing as he did so. Tetsunosuke grabbed the tape on his mouth and ripped it off, ignoring the pain.

"What's the big idea?!" he yelled. "Why did you lock me up in the closet?! And I'm gonna get you back for those things you said!"

"Too funny!!" Souji managed to say through his laughing. "You did an excellent job on the "transformation"!!"

"Thank you." Susumu bowed.

* * *

Meanwhile Tatsunosuke was walking around the market place with Din walking beside him. Things had become stronger between them; they were always going out to get food together, and always talking before lights out. They had also began to talk about personal things in their lives but Tatsunosuke had no idea about Hijikata and Din being together once, ten years ago, and she didn't want him to find out.

"So when are you going to meet Tetsu-kun?" Din asked as she picked up a small basket of apples.

"He should be here after Hirai-sama leaves," Tatsunosuke answered. "We're supposed to go and get something to eat together. Why?"

"Because that's when I'm going back to the Shinsengumi to train." Din grabbed basket of vegetables and placed them with the apples. "And I've got to make lunch for this afternoon before someone bites my head off."

They walked around together, laughing and talking for an hour until Tetsunosuke came running around the corner. Din then said goodbye to Tatsunosuke, and walked on home while saying goodbye to Tetsunosuke as well. Now together, the two Ichimura brothers walked over to a dumpling store and began eating.

"Am I really that bad?" Tetsunosuke asked his older brother after telling him what Hijikata had done. "Or am I just not cut out to be the vice commander's page?"

"Not today at least," Tatsunosuke answered back, taking a drink from his cup he had bought.

"We'll see…I feel like he's starting to show the _nasty_ side of becoming an adult." Tetsunosuke popped a dumpling into his mouth.

Tatsunosuke sighed. "Don't say that Tetsu-kun. When a man gets over thirty, he can have two different sides to him."

"What about a woman?" Tetsunosuke teased. "Din-chan doesn't have two different sides does she?"

"No." Tatsunosuke shook his head back and forth. "Well not that I've noticed. Regardless, you've seem to have grown a lot in a couple different ways. You know since _then_."

The two became quiet. Tetsunosuke looked over towards his brother to see him looking off into a crowd as he pushed a dumpling into his mouth.

"Tatsu-nii? Are you still mad?"

"Dunno." Tatsunosuke stood up. "Nature calls. I'll be right back."

Tetsunosuke sighed as his brother walked away. _He's still angry_. He thought after his sigh.

* * *

Din was in the kitchen, delivering the food she had just made to the higher-ranking people such as Hijikata and Kondo. She had no idea where the Ichimura brothers were but she figured that they would be back for lunch later. Carrying everything on a tray, she walked into Hijikata's room and set it down.

"There." She sighed. "Everyone's fed."

"I have something to tell you." Hijikata crossed his arms, telling her to sit so she did so. "The room in the next to Kondo-kun's has been cleared out and I want you to move in there tonight."

"What about Souji-kun?" Din blinked. "I don't want to leave him alone after all of his time."

Hijikata closed his eyes. "Souji-kun is starting to get sick and I don't need you getting sick as well."

Din sighed heavily. "I guess you're right. It might be nice to have my own room again."

She reached down in front of her and began eating the food she had just cooked. Hijikata watched her eat for a moment, and then began eating himself; happy to taste the thing she always used to make him ten years ago.

"Nagakura-kun, Heisuke-kun, and Kondo-kun have all gone to talk to Ito-sama," Hijikata said. "I don't know when they'll be back."

"Ito-sama?" Din raised her right eyebrow. "I've never heard of him."

"I'm not looking forward to him coming." Hijikata took another bite of his food and swallowed. "But we'll need him."

"I think we're fine the way we are." Din took in a deep breath. "But you're the tactician."

* * *

Tetsunosuke's day had been beyond weird. He had met a young, dark man he had never seen before and another member of the Shinsengumi had arrived, a young man by the name of Saitou. The two men seemed to know something about him, Saitou telling him that Suzu was still alive and well, and the darker man having a weapon he had never seen before. Thinking that everything was happening too fast for him, he ran down to Shimabara to take his mind off of things.

Hijikata, on the other hand, decided to train himself in secret when Yamanami walked into the room and began to watch him.

"You haven't changed a bit," Yamanami said as he watched Hijikata train. "You still train in secret."

"_You_ haven't changed either. You still come to watch me train in secret," Hijikata answered back. "You're just as bad as Din."

"Was she just in here?" Yamanami raised his right eyebrow. "I was looking for her earlier." He laughed. "But I guess you're right. I'm sorry."

Hijikata moved his sword down once more while Yamanami lowered his head. This was it; he had to talk to Hijikata about what was on his mind _now_.

"I'm sorry," he said once more; Hijikata looked towards him. "For some reason ever since I've been here I've been constantly going against your opinion. I wonder why? It was never like that before."

Hijikata moved his sword down once more. "I don't have time to sit around thinking about the past."

Figuring Hijikata was right to move on, he did it also. "I heard that Ogura Ito will be joining us."

"He practices the Hokushin Itto style like you, but that's all Todo-kun has told me." Hijikata moved his sword down again. "I don't think I'm gonna get along with him at all sorry. But I have a feeling I'm going to have _you_ deal with him."

Yamanami looked up from the floor. "About that…would you please demote me to the accounting division?"

Hijikata's eyes widened as his listened to Yamanami talk.

"As you know I'm very good with an abacus," Yamanami continued.

"I have no reason to." Hijikata swung once more. "No good reason."

Yamanami reached down and grabbed his sword handle. "My sword isn't good anymore. The blood that got on it when I killed Kamo-sama a year ago has completely rusted it. It's…no good anymore."

"That's a pathetic excuse." Hijikata moved his sword upwards. "You're not the only one who killed Kamo-sama. Me, Souji-kun, and Kondo-kun did too but our swords aren't rusted."

"I…" Yamanami's hand began to shake. "I could never be like you and I don't want to be."

Hijikata stopped moving and smiled as sweat slipped off of his face. "Ah you don't say. So you're sword's completely dull, huh?"

Yamanami's eyes widened as he grabbed the handle of his sword and began to pull it out just a bit to prove to himself that he could.

"Then draw it," Hijikata hissed. "What's wrong? Draw it. It's not really rusted at all is it? It can still cut. Can't it?"

He couldn't take it anymore. He hated how Hijikata had to be right about everything, and push everyone around. He grabbed his sword off of his hip, held it above his head, and slammed it down on the floor.

"You!!" Yamanami yelled. "You think you can manipulate me however you want!? It makes me sick! If I didn't do what you want, you'd kill me! And if I got in your way, you'd kill me! Do you think you can play games with a person's life? I…I am NOT your pawn!!"

Yamanami turned away from Hijikata and stormed out of the room, leaving his sword on the floor. Hijikata watched the other man walk away, and then picked up the sword off of the floor.

"That was dramatic."

He looked back up to see Din standing in the doorway with sweat dripping down her face. She was in her black training outfit and fanned herself as she walked into the room.

"I wonder what's caused him to think that?" Din thought out loud.

"I don't know." Hijikata looked away. "He said he was looking for you."

Din sighed. "I'll go talk to him."

* * *

Yamanami walked down the wooden flooring, thinking about what he had just done over and over again until he noticed that he had slammed into someone.

"Ow!"

He looked forward and saw Tatsunosuke sitting on the floor, holding his head, and the papers he had been carrying all over the floor.

"S-Sorry Tatsu-kun." Yamanami began to pick up the papers.

"It's okay Yamanami-sama," Tatsunosuke replied as the other man handed him a paper. "Thank you."

He handed the dark red head another paper. "Sorry."

Yamanami then stood up and walked away with his head down, and without saying another word. Tatsunosuke watched him walk away but was suddenly hit with a stomach cramp.

"Hey mister you dropped a book!"

Tatsunosuke looked over to his right and saw a hand reaching up and holding a book he had dropped. "Oh thanks!"

He reached over to grab the book to see black hairs with a bump in the middle of it. Not knowing what or who the person was, he stood up and began to run away when the person grabbed his kimono.

"Hold it! Hold it! Hold it! You dropped a BOOK on my head, man! Don't you owe me an apology or somethin'?" the man said.

"Your head?" Tatsunosuke asked.

"What else does it look like?"

Tatsunosuke turned around and looked. "Hey you're…that strange—"

"_Mysterious nice man!_"

"You mean '_nice guy_'," Tatsunosuke corrected.

"Yeah you can say that too," the man said, popping up and grinning at the dark red head. "So you know English man?"

"Yeah…anyway, what are you doing here?"

"What?" The man stood up and dusted himself off. "I came to see you of course! Sorry but I followed you here. I really wasn't expectin' you to lead me right to the Shinsengumi quarters. But the minute I saw you, I could tell." He grinned. "You're the Peacemaker's son aren't you?"

Tatsunosuke sat down and glared towards the strange man. He hadn't really seen him when he had met him before when Tetsunosuke had run off after him. He had no idea who he was but he figured he'd sit down and listen to what he had to say.

"It's amazin'! The more I look at ya, the more ya look like 'em. All you need is a beard and you'd look exactly like him! He's pretty well known in the underworld so I bet that face of yours has gotten ya into a lot of trouble. Hasn't it?"

The dark red head thought of how his face had gotten Tetsunosuke involved with Suzu and that strange man they saw and how it looked like the man who killed their parents. His face _had_ gotten them in trouble.

"I don't know who you are but…my parents died two years ago. You have nothing to do with me and my brother so leave us alone." Tatsunosuke lowered his head as he spoke.

"Relax man. I'm not like those guys that tried to kill your brother," the strange man said, reaching back to grab his hat. "In fact," he kneeled down, "it's just the opposite. Tatsunosuke, and Tetsunosuke Ichimura, you're different from everyone else here. Come with me! Together we'll clean up Japan!"

Tatsunosuke shuttered. _This man…I can't let him meet Tetsu-kun._ He thought.

"Please leave." Tatsunosuke stood up. "I don't care what happens to the Shougunate, to Japan, or even the world."

The sound of light footsteps caught the strange man's ears causing him to look to the right corner of Tatsunosuke and there he saw Din running towards the spot where the two stood. She was looking around back and forth until she spotted the man.

"Ryoma?" she asked, stopping in her tracks, next to Tatsunosuke.

"Din?" he asked, blinking. He stood up and looked back towards the woman.

"RYOMA!" she yelled happily.

She ran as fast as she could to him, and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist. He laughed loudly and wrapped his arms around and began to spin her around as they both began laughing.

"Ryoma!!" Din said as she laughed. "You're back! You're back!! You said you wouldn't be back for two years!!"

"Yeah I know! My trip ended early!" He grinned and stopped spinning. "What are you doin' in a place like this?"

Din moved her nose next to his. "I'll explain it to you later! But right now I've got to go do something, I'll meet you tonight at the docks."

What's Din-chan doing? Tatsunosuke thought as he watched the two. Does she know him?

"I'll see you then." He grinned.

Din hopped off of Ryoma, and took off down the way she had gone before without saying anything to Tatsunosuke. He looked away, figuring that something had happened that he couldn't or didn't understand. Suddenly the noise of someone coughing caught their attention.

Ryoma turned away. "Listen, don't say anything about me alright?"

"Huh?" Tatsunosuke blinked. "Okay."

Souji stepped up to where Tatsunosuke stood, coughing a bit. "Hi Tatsu-kun!" he said happily.

"Okita-san! You finished your patrol?" Tatsunosuke asked. "Thanks a lot."

"Thanks for sorting those papers but it's funny seeing _you_ here, Ryoma!"

Tatsunosuke looked towards the bush where Ryoma had disappeared to and saw that his hair was sticking out of the bush. Seeing that he had been caught, he popped out of the bush.

"Okie-chan! Long time no see! You're still as cute as ever!" Ryoma yelled.

"Ahaha! And I still have no idea what you're saying!" Souji laughed.

Is he a friend of Okita-san's as well? Tatsunosuke thought as he watched.

Suddenly the two drew their weapons and headed for one another. Ryoma guarded himself with his gun while Souji pressed down on him with his sword. Knowing that his gun couldn't keep up with Souji's strength, Ryoma hopped away from him.

"You haven't really changed. You always did have a rough way of saying hello," Ryoma said, moving his hand to get rid of the pain.

"Unfortunately I'm on duty now, and I can not let you get away." Souji moved his fingers to his mouth and blew.

His whistle caught the attention of all of the men around him and they all came to help him. The men surrounded Ryoma as he stood in the middle and grinned at them all.

"You're a wanted man Ryoma-san, so why'd you come to Shinsengumi Quarters? Did you find another person you want to scout?" Souji asked.

"Of course!" Ryoma grinned, moving his thumb back towards Tatsunosuke. "I'm still trying to scout you too! But there are three more people I'd like to have around. This place is a goldmine of useful talent."

"You think so? That's great! Well then Ryoma-san, feel free to take a nice long look from jail!"

Ryoma moved his gun towards the men. "Not thank you!!"

He fired his gun, causing three men to fall to the floor in pain. Now seeing his opening, he jumped upwards, grabbing a tree branch, and pulled himself up onto the wall behind him.

"I'll have to say goodbye for today but I'll be back! Dragon boy, say hello to Iron boy for me!" Ryoma yelled. "I'm Japanese! My name is Ryoma Sakamoto! The guy who's going to be the Peacemaker of Japan! But I _really_ want to the Peacemaker of the world too!"

With that, Ryoma jumped over the wall, leaving Tatsunosuke behind to look up towards the wall and wonder what had just happened in front of his eyes. Little did he know that now, his relationship with Din was going to take a long, harsh turn.

* * *

R&R please! 


	23. Broken

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Almost caught up. ::sigh:: Anways, thanks for the reviews! I love reading them!

Enjoy!

* * *

Night had fallen, and Din was serving dinner to everyone, Hijikata being last as always because she ate with him. She came into his room but only placed down one tray.

"You're not eating?" Hijikata asked, looking up towards her.

"I'm going out," she answered. "Sorry that you have to eat alone tonight, my plans were very last minute."

"I _was_ going to talk to you about Yamanami-kun," Hijikata hissed, hating the fact that his plans were now ruined.

Din leaned against the wall. "He hasn't come back from Shimabara yet so I haven't talked to him yet. I promise when I get back I'll talk to him and then talk to you."

"Promise?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "Now if you don't mind I'd better get going."

Din walked away from the room, leaving the door open to allow the cool air to come into the air. Hijikata sighed, not liking the fact that he had to eat alone for the first time since Din had come to the Shinsengumi but he thought of it as a small break from everyone. Getting over it quickly, he began eating.

* * *

Placing a small hop in her step, Din walked down to the docks, and down to the place where her and Tatsunosuke had begun talking again and where they had shared their small kiss. There she saw Ryoma sitting down with a basket next to him. He heard her, turned around and grinned.

"I knew you'd be early," he said, patting the spot next to him. "Ya always are."

"My mother taught me right," she answered back as she walked over towards him and sat beside him. "I've missed you. I came down here everyday to wait for you."

"Even after I told you I wouldn't be back?" he asked blinking.

She blushed a bit and looked him in the eyes. "Yeah."

He smiled and reached his right hand up to her shoulders and pulled her over. Gently he moved his face towards hers and kissed her. Her eyes widened at first but then relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

After a few moments he pulled away from her and petted her right cheek, causing her to blush more.

"I've been waitin' ten months to do that," he whispered.

Suddenly the noise of someone walking by caught their attention. They looked around until they spotted a bridge not too far away. They got up quickly, Ryoma grabbing the basket and then ran underneath the bridge. They moved underneath it until they were both covered by the darkness, pressed up against one another, trying to completely be covered by the shade. The walking moved above them and slowly faded away.

"Damn," Din whispered. "I forgot about you being in public."

"And _I_ forgot how much fun you were to hide _with_," Ryoma said with a grin.

Wanting to know what he meant, she looked down and saw that the side of Ryoma's face was shoved into her chest. She rolled her eyes and moved so that she was sitting with her back against the bridge and him next to her.

"So," Din moved around, "what's in the basket?"

Ryoma brought the basket over to him and opened it. "Sake and bread."

She twitched. "That's it?"

"I haven't been able to get to my money source." He moved the sake towards her. "But it was the first meal you and I shared back when we first met."

"Yeah." She blushed once more. "That's right."

* * *

Two drinking hours later, Din and Ryoma were still underneath the bridge where Ryoma's laughing could be heard echoing from. He was now lying down in Din's lap, looking up at her as she told him everything that had been happening to her in his leave.

"So you've been hangin' out with Ryuunosuke-sama's kids?" he asked, laughing. "Which one?"

"Dragon boy," she answered with a sigh. "There's something about him that just keeps me comin' back to him. I don't know, we're really close now."

Ryoma laughed once more. "It's not 'cause you were in love with Ryuunosuke-sama is it?"

Din blushed heavily. "No. That's not the reason I talk to Tatsu-kun."

"So you finally admit that you were in love with him?"

"No!" She shook her head back and forth. "He was _married_. I only liked him because he was such a big help to me, especially after leaving Hijikata. He was just so nice to me and always took care of me whenever I needed help" She leaned back. "Maybe I was falling for him because he was trying to change the world."

"Kinda like me," Ryoma added in.

"Yeah." She sighed once more. "He was handsome too."

"Like me."

"_Anyway_, Tatsu-kun is totally different. He's really nice to talk to and has always helped me with something and—"

Ryoma reached up and kissed her once more, then pulled away; Din to puffed up her cheeks.

"What was that for?" she hissed.

"To make sure he doesn't take you away from me. I had a hard time getting you away from Ryuunosuke-sama."

Din looked away blushing as he laid back down in her lap and closed his eyes. A cooling breeze came over them, and Ryoma sighed from the feeling.

"Do you still have the ring I gave you?" he asked.

She reached into her kimono, grabbed a chain that hung around her neck and pulled it out to show him the sliver ring trapped in it.

"I can't get rid of it," she answered.

"I want you to keep it for awhile longer." He pushed it back towards her. "I might want to ask you to marry me again."

Din place it back into her kimono. "About that…I'm so sorry for what I did. I had no right to reject you that night. I had no right to be so selfish about something that shouldn't have been a problem."

"Don't worry about it Cowgirl!" Ryoma laughed once more. "You would have been miserable with me and I can't stand to see you upset! You know I love you more then the world itself! I'll always be waitin' for you."

"Ryoma…," Din whimpered.

Water began to gather underneath her eyes as his words hit her and sank into her and memories of what had happened in the ten months Ryoma had been gone flashed through her mind. He was so different then the only other person she had been with, and that was what had caused her to fall in love with him so quickly. As a tear began to fall down her face, he brought his hand up and cupped her face.

"Don't cry because of me," he whispered. "I want you to smile."

_Why? Why are you so different from everyone else?_ Din thought as she smiled.

Why are you always the one I run to and never cry about?

"So," he moved closer towards her stomach, "have you been with anyone else while I've been gone?"

"Of course not! Well I did kiss someone but…have you?"

Ryoma looked around. "No…"

"Ryo!"

"I'm kiddin'!" He moved his right hand back and forth. "I told you I was saving my second virginity for you."

"You told me that you would give me your second virginity and I never promised you anything else. I guess we'll both start over." Din smiled.

His second virginity, he called it, came to be because when he was younger he gave his virginity to a whore out of curiosity and desire. He hated himself after it because he had always told himself that he would give it to the women he loved so he invited his "second virginity" when he met Din.

Ryoma moved up to Din's face. "I've missed you. I thought about you nonstop once I left." He kissed her. "That's why I asked you to marry me right before I left."

"I know." She pressed her face against his. "I love you too Ryo."

"_Promise me you'll tell me when you're falling in love with someone else."_

_I'm sorry._ She thought, kissing Ryoma.

"_Promise me you'll tell me before you leave."_

_I can't keep any more promises_.

"_Promise me you'll never leave."_

_I'm sorry Hijikata._

* * *

Hijikata woke up to Din shaking him and calling his name over and over again. He slowly opened his eyes, and sat up.

"What?" he asked tiredly.

"I talked to Yamanami-san," she sighed, "he's just stressed out about things. I think he wants to talk to you like nothing has happened. Everything will be fine with him Hijikata so relax."

"Thank you." Hijikata pulled his hair back into his normal ponytail. "What time did you get back last night?"

"I just got back two hours ago." She laughed.

Hijikata sighed. "Who were you with?"

Din blushed. "An old boyfriend….my ex-fiancée to be exact."

He twitched. "So he's back in town?"

"Yeah." Her blush deepened.

"Are you going to leave now or later?" he hissed.

"What?"

"You said that you were going to leave once he came back, so hurry up and tell me what you're going to do." Hijikata looked away.

Din closed her eyes and stood up. She quickly walked over towards the back door and walked out of it without saying another word to him. He waited a few moments before he looked towards the door and sighed.

_I guess she's leaving now._ He thought.

* * *

While walking out, Din bumped into Yamanami. He opened his mouth to apologize for bumping into her but stopped when he saw how busy her mind was. Thinking that she needed someone to talk to, he took in into the backyard, near the koi fishpond and sat down with her.

"What's wrong?" Yamanami asked. "Did Hijikata say something to you again?"

"There's so much going through my head right now." She leaned her head against the tree behind her. "I don't know what to think anymore. I figured that I should talk to you because I know that _you'll_ be honest with me."

"Uh…thank you." Yamanami laughed a bit.

"My ex-fiancée came back the other day, I'll call him Shi, and we spent the night together talking about things. He told me he loved me and I told him that I loved him back but the minute I come back here I feel so attached to Hijikata." Din's hands gripped her kimono. "I _don't_ know what it is that keeps dragging me back to him but every time I'm around Hijikata I feel like I'm cheating on R—Shi. And I don't want to leave yet."

"Yet?"

"I have to go on a mission with Shi sooner or later and that's when I'm going to leave," Din explained. "Hijikata already knows about it but he doesn't want me to leave. I don't know what to do, or what to think anymore."

"What's Shi like?" Yamanami asked, trying to get more of the story.

"Well we got together and started dating when I turned twenty eight, about two almost three years when he asked me to marry him. I rejected him and he left to go on a mission and left four months before I came to live here. He's great," she lowered her head, "he's so different from Hijikata, the only other man I've been with. He's said things to me that no one has ever said to me, he can finish my sentences, and it's almost like he can read my mind. Is that love Yamanami-kun?"

"Hinto-san, you know what love is." Yamanami moved closer to her.

"I gave up," Din's eyes began to water, "so much to be with Hijikata. We both worked so hard to see each other when we were younger and we went through so much but now everything is gone. I don't know, I don't want to leave Hijikata again but…"

She's still so attached to Hijikata. Yamanami blinked as he watched her. Even though there's someone out in the world who promises her everything she wants to be with Hijikata-kun.

Tears fell onto the floor as Din began to cry. "I want to be with Hijikata. I don't know if it's my heart or what but I want to be with him just like we used to be but something inside of me is telling me to be with Shi as well."

"Maybe you want to be with Hijikata because you were so happy back when you were together," Yamanami said, looking up towards the sky. "Perhaps it would be better for you to leave with Shi and do whatever you want with him and if things don't work out, Hijikata-kun will always be waiting for you."

"I can't keep making people wait." Din sniffled. "It's not fair to play around with people like that."

"You waited for Hijikata."

Din brought her knees up to her chest and tucked them in, wrapping her arms around them tightly so they wouldn't stretch outwards.

"Why does Hijikata have to be so stubborn? He knows that I love him and want to be with him but…we always go through the same issues," Din whimpered.

"Shi sounds like he would be healthier for you." Yamanami sighed.

"I know but I keep falling for Hijikata." Din shook her head back and forth. "Sometimes I think fate wants us to be together because it brought me back to him but…this is torture."

"Hinto-san…Hijikata doesn't want you to get hurt by being with him and he's never going to go against his beliefs." Yamanami shook his head back and forth. "It would be best for you to go with Shi…or Tatsu-kun."

Din blinked. "Tatsu-kun…"

"_It's not 'cause you were in love with Ryuunosuke-sama is it?" _

"I-I don't know anymore." She placed her head on her knees. "Hijikata does things that make me think that he _does_ want to get back together but Tatsu-kun…he's been so sweet to me but he looks too much like someone I used to like."

"You wouldn't be with him because he looks like someone else?" Yamanami asked in surprise. "He can't help that Hinto-san."

"It's just that I would be afraid that, _that_ would be the reason for me liking him," Din mumbled loud enough to hear. "He looks exactly like him."

"Looks and personality are two different things."

Din's eyes widened, then relaxed. "You're right Yamanami-kun. Thanks a lot for listening to me. I never thought I'd be talking to you like this."

"Me either." Yamanami laughed. "I think everything will work out for you Hinto-san, Hijikata is just," he sighed, "I think he may be as confused as you are."

Din looked back up towards him and smiled. "I owe you."

"It's not a big deal." Yamanami smiled.

* * *

Later on in the day when the night had fallen, and everyone had gone to bed, Tatsunosuke felt someone tugging on him. Thinking that Tetsunosuke wanted or need something, he woke up quickly only to see that it was Din.

"Tatsu-kun," she whispered.

"Wha?" he asked, blinking.

"I _have_ to show you something." She tugged on him once more. "You need to come to my room."

"Sure."

Tatsunosuke followed Din back to her room where she lit her lantern, and moved a wooden box towards it.

"I placed this with my parents for storage," Din said as she got settled. "They died a few weeks ago so my other relatives sent this back to me. There's something in from your father I want you to read."

"My father?" Tatsunosuke blinked.

"It's old." Din opened the small box. "Maybe five years old or so."

She fully opened the box and set the lid down onto the floor, allowing the dark red head to look into the box. Papers, small rings, and the only letter in an envelope that sat on top of everything else.

"I just read the letter for the first time a few minutes ago." She lifted the letter up slowly. She opened the flap, pulled out the paper, and handed it to Tatsunosuke.

He unfolded the paper to see that it was fragile at the creases because of its long time being folded. Finally getting it open, he saw his father's handwriting at the top of the paper.

_Dear Din-chan,_

_For some reason I don't think I'm going to be on this earth any longer. I hope I've helped you with your sister, and I can only pray that Ryoma-kun will help you keep up your search for her in the Choshu. _

_I don't know how old Tatsunosuke will be when I pass away but if he's too young to care for himself and Tetsunosuke, I want you to please care for them. I know I can trust you, and that you'll do everything in your power to keep them safe._ _Please don't allow them to go to an orphanage and risk becoming separated. Just keep them until Tatsunosuke is old enough but please watch over them. If Tatsunosuke is old enough please find him one day and befriend him._

_There's nothing more to say. I've made my request to you and I trust that everything will work out the way it's supposed to. I'm just asking for you to watch over my boys. Thank you Din-chan._

Ryuunosuke Ichimura 

Tatsunosuke read the letter over and over again just to picture his father writing the letter, and just to see the familiar way he wrote out everything. It was a bit strange but he felt another weird feeling when he reread that his father wanted Din to take care of them.

"How old were you when he wrote this?" he asked, clearing his voice to stop him from choke and start crying.

"Twenty-six," Din answered. "It was five years ago."

"I was seventeen." Tatsunosuke looked away. "He thought he was going to die so early on. He didn't die until three years later."

"I just thought it was a bit strange." Din sighed. "Your father wanted us to meet up and we did."

Tatsunosuke raised his right hand away from the letter and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. He couldn't help it, just being reminded of his father and how he had set up their future in case he died early. He missed him.

"Tatsu-kun," Din said gently.

She moved over towards him as he looked up from the letter, and towards the ceiling. Be careful, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and he placed the letter down on the floor as he wrapped his arms around her abdomen. He rested his head on her right shoulder and began to cry; trying to be quiet.

Not wanting to wake someone up, Din moved back and covered the lantern with the top of the box, and caused it to go out. She moved back against Tatsunosuke and held him tightly.

"I thought I was over this," he whimpered.

"You never get over it," she whispered. "You just have to live, and slowly learn to live without them. You never forget them, and you never get over them dying. It's okay to cry about it."

"I miss him."

"I miss him too."

Tatsunosuke held her tightly as he cried until it became late and he fell asleep with her, with his arms still around her. Din moved him to lie down beside her and placed out another futon for him. When she laid down, she closed her eyes and before she could think about anything, she too fell asleep.

* * *

R&R please! 


	24. Remembrace

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thanks for the reviews! Here's my weekly update, **000**-shows flashback or dream.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Ryuunosuke-sama! Ryuunosuke-sama!!"

Ryuunosuke looked up from the grocery basket he was looking at that was full of apples and saw twenty-six year old Din running down the street. She was yelling, and waving her right hand in the hand. He smiled and stepped away from the grocery basket, and into the middle of the street.

"Ryuunosuke-sama!" she yelled once more.

She finally met up with him, and slammed herself into him, wrapping her arms around his stomach tightly. He smiled, and wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her in deeper.

"I don't want to leave," she said, her voice somewhat muffled.

"You have to," Ryuunosuke said with a laugh. "Your family needs you and you can't let anything happen to your family."

"I don't want to be alone."

"You have Ryoma-kun." Ryuunosuke pulled her away and moved her chin up to make her look up at him. "You won't be alone. Did you get my letter?"

"I had it sent to my parent's home." Din blinked. "That way I can read it when I get there."

"Good." He grinned. "So are you going to continue searching for Setsuna-chan where you live?"

"Yes." She nodded. "There are a few Choshu bases up there so I'm going to look up there."

"I'll send you any news I hear about her." Ryuunosuke gentle petted her on the head. "I'll keep an eye out for her as well."

Din's eyes began to water. "Thank you so much Ryuunosuke-sama!"

"No, thank you Din-chan." He wiped the tear from her eye. "I just hope that everything goes well for you in your future."

He bent down to her, placed his hands on her shoulders and gently kissed her on her forehead. A heavy blush crossed her face, and her arms fell back down to her sides.

He pulled away from her. "Good luck Din-chan. Take care of yourself."

"Ryuunosuke-sama…," she whispered.

**000000000000000000000**

Suddenly Din sat up and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She took a deep breath in as she thought about the dream she had just had.

Ryuunosuke-sama. She thought. I haven't had the dream about our parting in months.

She looked over towards Tatsunosuke and smiled. She couldn't help _but_ smile whenever she looked at him because he always seemed to make her so happy. Looking away, she looked towards the backdoor where only a bit of light peaked through, telling her that the sun had barely began to rise. Figuring that she should get back to bed, she laid back down, facing Tatsunosuke.

_You look just like him_. She pondered. _But you're so different from him._

"_Looks and personality are two different things."_

_Yamanami-kun…How can someone who always used to cause so many problems with me be the one to give me advice?_ Din hung her head.

"_He's so different from Hijikata."_

Din's eyes widened a bit. _Are you like Ryoma? Is it just because I'm looking for someone so different from the man I used to love that I'm falling for you two? Is that the only reason why?_

"_I think he may be as confused as you are."_

_Does that mean that he would fall head over heels for a woman who's the exact opposite of me?_ She closed her eyes.

_"There's something about him that just keeps me comin' back to him. I don't know, we're really close now."_

_"I don't know what it is that keeps dragging me back to him but every time I'm around Hijikata I feel like I'm cheating."_

_Tatsu-kun…what am I going to do when it's time to leave? I don't have a plan…really. I'll have to think of one._ She sighed. _I'm going to have to soon.

* * *

_

Tatsunosuke opened his eyes to see Din sleeping across from him with her covers down passed her waist. He blushed as he realized where he was but soon relaxed as he thought of the night before.

_I'm just asking for you to watch over my boys._

Was that the only reason she was laying down with him right now? Did she only talk to him because of his father? He shook his head and thought of everything he and Din had been through and found himself blushing. Figuring that he should enjoy this rare private moment, he closed his eyes once more.

"_You make me happy."_

The sound of someone walking by stirred him, and he remembered how Din had to get up. Not liking the idea, he got up anyway and gently shook her until her eyes opened.

"What?" she asked with a tired tone.

Her eyes blurred as she looked up and saw someone hovering over her and for that brief moment, she saw Ryuunosuke. She blinked once more, clearing her vision and the image changed to Tatsunosuke, causing her heart to pick up, and a smile cross her face.

"Tatsu-kun," she said happily.

Happy that it was him, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. He blushed as he was pulled down on top of her.

"I'm so happy it's you Tatsu-kun," she whispered.

"Uh, Din-chan you have to make breakfast."

"Just let me hold you a little longer."

Tatsunosuke twitched. No one had ever said anything like that to him before and he didn't know how to react. Letting the blush on his face deepen, he relaxed and wrapped his arms around her.

Din had to prove to herself that Ryuunosuke was no longer around, and now Tatsunosuke was there. Tatsunosuke was the one who was going to be there for her now, not Ryuunosuke.

Din pulled away. "I'd better get going Tatsu-kun, I have to make breakfast."

"Alright." Tatsunosuke blinked.

Din stood up and walked out of the room, leaving the door open for Tatsunosuke. After waiting for a few minutes so that he wouldn't get caught leaving her room, he walked out of the room, and back into his normal working office.

* * *

"Come on Saya-chan!" Tetsunosuke yelled as he grabbed her small hand and ran ahead of her. She giggled, and ran along with him, passing the trio who was taking a break from training.

"Looks like Tetsu-kun has found himself a woman as well." Heisuke sighed. "Damn Ichimura brothers, they have all the luck."

"I think someone's jealous," Shinpachi teased, hitting him on the side with his elbow.

"Am not!" Heisuke hit the red head. "I'm just wondering what seems to draw women to the two brothers that's all."

"You act like they have hordes of women." Sanosuke narrowed his eyes.

"But they have one and that's more then me!" Heisuke yelled.

"So you _are_ jealous!" Sanosuke and Shinpachi announced together.

"What about that Mizuarni girl who lives down by the river?" Shinpachi asked, moving in closer towards the brown haired boy. "I saw you talking to her yesterday!"

Heisuke blushed. "That doesn't mean anything!"

"Sure!" Sanosuke laughed. "By the way," he moved in closer towards the two, "did you see Tatsu-kun come out of Din-chan's room this morning? I was comin' to warn her about it getting late and she came out only to be followed by Tatsu-kun!"

Shinpachi moved his hand under his chin. "Come to think of it I didn't see Tatsu-kun when I woke up this morning."

"You think they were doin' something?" Heisuke asked, now getting into the conversation.

"EW!" Sanosuke pulled away from the group. "Don't talk about Tatsu-kun losing his virginity!"

"Is he a virgin?" Shinpachi whispered so that the nearby Tetsunosuke wouldn't hear anything more then he needed to.

"Well he's never had a girlfriend." Heisuke shrugged.

"That doesn't mean he's never had sex before." Shinpachi laughed. "But getting with Din-chan means that he likes older, more experienced women."

"Ew!" Sanosuke and Heisuke yelled.

"Hey!" Tetsunosuke came running towards the group. "I found this hanging near the front gate."

He handed Sanosuke a small white letter with Din's name written on the front in handwriting he had never seen before. Sanosuke, figuring that it would be best to give it to her then rather open it, stood up and sighed.

"I'll go and give it to her." He sighed. "Anyone know where she is?"

"I saw her eating lunch with Hijikata-sama," Tetsunosuke answered as Saya walked over to him and stood beside him.

"Alright." Sanosuke sighed.

* * *

"Remember that time when Hijikata got into a fight with the neighbors?" Din asked with a large smile across her face.

She was sitting in Hijikata's room with Kondo, Hijikata of course, and Yamanami, going over things that happened when they were younger. They were all eating the lunch she had made, and drinking small amounts of sake along with their tea as they reminisced.

"You were so angry!" Kondo laughed. "I remember Toshi-kun going over there and giving him that killer look he has and we never heard from them again!"

Din began laughing louder. "They were scared shitless!"

"It's that look!" Yamanami began laughing as well.

"And that sarcastic attitude!" Din added.

"Oh shut up." Hijikata said with a slight smile coming across his face.

"Hijikata-sama!" Sanosuke called from outside of the back door.

"Enter!" Hijikata answered.

Sanosuke opened the door, and walked in, looking for Din. He spotted her and without saying anything, he handed her the note and left the room. Wondering what it was, Din opened the note.

_Din,_

_It's been three months since we've last seen each other, and I doubt Yoshida-sama would like that. I've got something that will lead you towards who killed your sister and I know you'll want it. Meet me in the building in the wood cutting factory tomorrow in the mid-afternoon. Come alone. _

_Suzu_

_Suzu._ She thought, reading over the note once more. _Suzu was the little boy who Setsuna-chan was taking care of. He's still alive? I thought someone said that he died after the Ikeda-ya incident._

Kondo noticed the change in Din's happy mood and how her eyes widened a bit as she read over the letter. He looked over towards Hijikata to see if he noticed it but he was busy eating as much as he could while they weren't laughing or talking.

"Is everything okay Din-chan?" Kondo asked.

Din looked away from the letter. "Fine." She folded it and hid it in her kimono. "Now where were we?"

* * *

The next day, Din did as she was told in the letter and arrived at the wood cutting factory. Moving passed the large piles of wood; she found a small wooden shack in the very back and figured that she was in the right place.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps came from behind Din, and she turned around to see if it was Suzu only to see a large, towering man standing behind her moving his sword towards her.

_Shit_. She thought.

She jumped backwards, missing the sword and landed, glaring towards the man. Reaching down into her kimono, she pulled out a throwing knife and threw it at the man's right shoulder. The knife went through his clothes and the handle stuck out, telling Din that she had hit her mark.

_There! That should—_

He raised his arm once more and moved his blade sideways, aiming for her neck. She ducked and stepped back a few steps until she felt the shack hit her back

_I aimed for his shoulder! He shouldn't be able to move his right arm at all now dammit! What the hell is going on here?_ She thought, her hand gripping the wall behind her.

There was no place for her to run. Her eyes looked around, trying to find an open place but found nothing. Suddenly, she came up with a plan.

_This better work._

She quickly moved to her left as the man followed her. Aiming for the corner of the building, she ran scooted towards it, the man started to move his right arm once more for another sideswipe. Once around the corner, she turned her back to the man and jumped backwards, his swing coming across and cutting her hair as well as the back of her neck.

_Dammit, dammit, dammit!!_ She repeated over and over again in her head.

As she flew over him she grabbed another knife out of her kimono. She landed behind him, and with everything she had; she stabbed the knife into this back, aiming for his spine.

_This has to do something._

The man moved back, and with his left arm, turned around and smacked Din to the right. Her body flew, smacking into a large pile of wood, and then hit the floor with her cringing in pain from both impacts. She heard a crack, and looked up to see that the wood was starting to fall and the man was walking towards her. Figuring that she the wood would come first, she moved her hands behind her head to protect it.

_If I die here, I'm gonna be so pissed off._ She told herself in order to comfort and calm her down.

She waited for the wood to come crashing down but heard another noise. Turning around she saw that the man had pushed his sword through the wood, preventing it from falling over.

"You have very nice moves," another voice said, catching her attention. Din looked up in front of her and saw Suzu sitting down with a smile on his face.

"Kitamura-kun," Din said breathlessly.

"Hello Din-chan, it's been a while." He grinned. "Excuse Hikagami-san, I just wanted to see how you would react against him."

He was so different from the Suzu Din had come to know in those three days she had spent with him. He was no longer the caring boy who Setsuna had taken care of; the death of his master had changed him completely.

"Now why don't you come out of there so I can talk to you?" Suzu moved, as did Hikagami.

Din moved from underneath the wood only to feel that she had done something to her left arm. Whenever she placed weight on it, a sharp pain shot up her arm and lingered on. Standing up, she realized that her hair had been cut very short, and the wound on her neck was bleeding profusely.

_I'm hurt dammit._ She thought as she panted from the pain. _I can't fight again with my arm like this_.

"What do you have that can tell me who killed Setsuna-chan?" Din asked, standing up weakly.

"This picture." He moved his hand down into a pocket and pulled out a small picture. "It's a picture of who killed Setsuna-san. But before I give it to you, I want something from you."

"What?" She narrowed her eyes.

"What is your connection with Ryoma Sakamoto?"

Din twitched, her heartbeat picking up. "He was helping me look for Setsuna-chan."

"That's it?"

"We're partners. But now that I know what happened to Setsuna-chan I don't think we'll be corresponding much longer." Din spoke as the blood from her neck began to leak down her back heavily.

"He's going to start turning the world around." Suzu cupped his chin. "And being with the Shinsengumi might lead to a few…problems. I want exactly what my master wanted, you are going to come with me."

Din's eyes widened. "I can't!" She shook her head. "Kitamura-kun please! Just give me a bit more time with the Shinsengumi!"

"Why?" Suzu blinked.

Tears began to fall down her face. "There's someone I love there! Please Kitamura-kun just allow me a bit more time with them! Then I'll come with you and do whatever you want me to just please!" Din took a large breath of air in. "Setsuna-chan asked me to take care of you and I will honor that wish if you just allow me more time!"

"How long?"

Din thought quickly and came up with a number. "Six months."

Suzu sighed. "Six months might be a bit too long. I think I'll come and get you whenever I see fit."

"Kitamura-kun!" Din moved forward but fell to her knees, dizzy because of her blood loss and pain. "Please," she begged, now crying heavily, "allow me to stay with the Shinsengumi and I'll make sure Tetsunosuke Ichimura is safe from harm."

"Tetsu-kun?" Suzu walked closer towards her with interest.

"I know you two are friends," she managed to say as her vision doubled. "I know you want to see him again. I'll watch over him."

Suzu turned away. "I don't know, take the picture and leave."

The white haired boy flicked the picture down onto the floor, and Din snatched it. Not wanting to be in the area any longer, she shoved it down into her kimono and looked back up at Suzu.

"I'll be watching you," Suzu said with another sigh.

Hikagami moved his hand down towards Din's head, and smacked her. The pain ran through her, and she tried to yell from the pain but nothing came out. Her mouth was wide open but nothing came out. Everything around her became black, and she fell to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

R&R please! 


	25. Choice

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din and Setsuna.

Thankies for the reviews! Next week I'm going to thank the ones who review over and over again because you're so sweet to me! Anyways, I think I'm almost caught up with all of this, just a few more weekly updates and then they'll become slower and slower until I'm finally done. Damn this is long. Anyways,

Enjoy!

* * *

A day had passed, and Din hadn't returned. Her body was still lying down in the wood cutting factory, unnoticed. The Shinsengumi, by then, had noticed her missing and had sent out Souji to find her.

"Din-nee!" Souji called out as he walked around. "Din-nee!!"

"Din-chan!!" another male voice called out as if he had found something.

Din-nee? Souji asked himself.

Wanting to know if the other voice had found her and ignoring the thought of it being someone he didn't know, he ran towards the voice and found himself running through the wood cutting factory.

"Din-nee!!" Souji called out. "Din-nee!"

He ran to the back and saw Din lying on the floor, and Ryoma bending down towards her with his right hand on her neck.

Souji's hand came to his mouth. Din was just lying there; not moving and he couldn't see her chest or back moving up and down as she took in breaths. Her back was covered in blood from the wound on her back, and her hair was cut short and frizzed. Souji thought the worst at first and then moved closer towards her.

"She's got a pulse," Ryoma said, taking his hand away from her neck.

Souji sighed and relaxed. "Good. Do you know what happened?"

Ryoma shook his head. "No. She didn't come to see me last night like she promised so I knew somethin' was up."

"Come to see you?" Souji blinked. "Why would she come to see you?"

Ryoma smiled and looked away. "Because we used to be engaged."

Souji's mouth dropped open. Din and Ryoma? He just couldn't believe that she would fall for someone like _him_. As he thought back to see if there had been any signs when he thought of engament ring Din had shown him when they had finally met up again. DHxRS, Din Hinto and Ryoma Sakamoto.

"We'd better get her back to the Shinsengumi, I don't have a stable place for her." Ryoma bent over and gently picked her up. "You don't mind do you Okie-chan?"

"No." Souji shook his head.

"You're not gonna arrest me?"

Souji looked downwards. "Not now. Not with Din-nee like this."

* * *

Hijikata stood next to Din's body, waiting for her to wake up. He had treated her wounds as well as he knew how; her cut on her neck had been sewn together. She was lying down in her nemaki with her shortened hair now down to her shoulders.

_How the hell could she get so damn hurt?_ Hijikata thought as he looked over towards her. _What the hell was she doing?_

He looked down towards her blood soaked clothing and picked up a small picture that had fallen out of her kimono when he was changing her. He looked at it, and wondered what it could mean.

It was a picture of an older looking man who resembled Tatsunosuke, and a young looking Din standing next to one another. He blinked, wondering who the man was and why Din had a picture of him. He flipped the picture over to the white back and saw handwriting.

_Din-nee, age twenty something._

_Din-nee?_ Hijikata asked himself. _Could Setsuna-chan have taken this picture? Or did she have it?_

Din moaned and moved slightly, catching Hijikata's attention. He moved over towards her as her eyes fluttered open and she moved her right hand up to her face.

"Ow. Dammit," she moaned, coming to. "Where the hell am I?"

"Home," Hijikata answered, moving his right hand to her forehead to see if she had a fever. "What the hell happened to you?"

"A fight," she moaned, feeling the pain shoot back in her left arm.

"With?" He moved back against the wall.

She managed to sit up and smiled. "An old friend."

"Here." Hijikata handed her the picture he had found. "This fell out of your kimono when I was changing you."

Din moved her right arm over and grabbed the picture. Taking a deep breath in she brought it up to her face and saw that it was of her and Ryuunosuke.

"It's a picture of who killed Setsuna-san."

_Ryuunosuke-san and I?_ Din asked herself as he stared at the picture. _How could we have killed Setsuna-chan? This doesn't make any sense! I went through all of that crap for nothing._

"What happened to your hair?" Hijikata asked, breaking through all of her thoughts.

Din reached back to it and felt how short it was. "It got caught in the middle of the fight. I hate it when my hair is this short."

"I've never seen it that way."

"It's ugly." She sighed. "But what does it matter?"

Hijikata decided to change the subject. "You might have dislocated your shoulder but it's back in place now."

"Thanks." She felt her left shoulder with her right hand. "How long have I been out?"

"Souji-kun found you yesterday and before that you had been gone for only one day." Hijikata stood up. "You should take your medicine."

Din looked to her right and saw small cups filled with clear liquid. Figuring that was what Hijikata was talking about; she took them each and shook her head from the bitter taste.

"Saitou-kun wants to speak with you when you get better." Hijikata spoke, not liking the silence between them.

"I don't know too much about him." Din looked out towards the back window, twitching from the stretch on the back of her neck. "He's the second unit captain correct?"

"Right." Hijikata reached over to his tray and brought his pipe towards his lips. "Ito-san will be here at the end of the week."

"Great." Din sighed. "What are you going to tell him about me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Din crossed her legs, "I'm just wondering if he'll think something is going on because I always eat dinner with you. I don't want to cause problems that's all."

"Don't worry." He lit his pipe. "I'll take care of everything."

Din's eyes moved downwards, looking at the ground. "Thank you Hijikata."

"You're still hiding things from me."

"You are too." Din turned back to Hijikata to see him smoking. "I'm sorry."

* * *

"So Ito-sama is coming here in seven days?" Sanosuke asked, looking at his two other partners in crime.

They were all sitting around outside of the room where Tatsunosuke was working with the door open, hoping that he would come out and take a break. Sanosuke and Shinpachi were sitting on the wooden deck while Heisuke was standing.

"I'm so excited!!" Heisuke said as he twirled around. "I can't wait!"

"He must be a cool guy." Shinpachi blinked as he watched his friend spin around.

"Super cool!!" Heisuke grinned.

"Hey," Sanosuke blinked as something came to him, "isn't Din-chan's birthday sometime this week?"

"Is it October already?" Shinpachi sighed. "Time's going so fast nowadays."

"Yeah." Sanosuke moved his right fist down into his open left hand. "Her birthday is the day before Ito-sama shows up."

Birthday? Tatsunosuke thought as he looked up from his work. Her birthday is six days away. Should I do something for her? He blushed. He looked over towards a small box where he had been keeping money and sighed.

"She's gonna be thirty-one this year!" Sanosuke laughed. "Damn!"

"Hey!" Tetsunosuke came from around the corner with a box in his hands. "I found _another_ package for Din-chan, do you know where she is?"

"No." Shinpachi shook his head.

"Give me that." Heisuke snatched the box from the smaller boy. "Why does she keep getting these things?" He moved it up and down. "It's really light."

Shinpachi grinned. "I wonder what it could be."

"I know how we can find out." Sanosuke said as the grin Shinpachi had on his face crossed his as well.

"Right." Heisuke held to the box tighter. "_We_'_ll_ give it to Din-chan Tetsu-kun, thanks a lot."

"You're gonna open it aren't you?" Tetsunosuke glared towards the older man.

"No." Heisuke turned around and ran away, signaling to the other two to run as well.

"Hey!" Tetsunosuke yelled.

The trio took off, leaving nothing but a dust trail behind. Tetsunosuke was going to run after them, but figured that they were long gone by now, and just went back to his page duties, hoping that they would give it to Din.

The trio found Din in the kitchen, stirring something with her right arm. It didn't smell like she was making something, and it was too early for her to start making dinner. Ignoring that fact, they opened the box and found a bunch of papers with messy handwriting on them.

"What's this?" Shinpachi asked out loud.

"Lemme read them!" Sanosuke grabbed the top letter. "My Din," Sanosuke began reading out loud, "I miss you and wish to share my nights with you once more."

"EW!" Heisuke twitched.

"It's so romantic!" Shinpachi fluttered his eyes and laughed.

Din stopped what she was doing. She closed her eyes, and waited for the trio to say something else before _she_ did anything.

"There are nights," Sanosuke continued, "that I wish for your warmth and company and wake in disappointment."

"Sanosuke-kun?" Din asked, turning around. "Where the HELL did you get that!?"

"No where!" He laughed.

"Give it to me!" Din held out her right hand. "NOW!"

"Run!" Shinpachi yelled.

Once again the trio took off with the box full of letters but Din chased after them. She followed them as they ran through the dojo, through the hallways, and passed the members who looked at them strangely.

"I didn't know she was _this_ fast!!" Shinpachi yelled as he took a sharp corner.

"Me either!" Heisuke yelled back.

* * *

"It sure is a wonderful day outside today," Kondo said as he took a large breath in.

"It's bright." Hijikata sighed as; he too, looked out towards the backyard. "We're going to have to begin burning leafs soon."

"Yes." Kondo smiled. "Fall is coming once more. Speaking of which, what are you going to do for Din-chan's birthday?"

"I don't know." He shrugged.

"Did you even remember?"

"Yeah I did." Hijikata sighed. "She remembered mine."

Kondo blinked. "She did?"

"Yeah."

"What did she do?"

Hijikata blushed. "She did…something."

"GET BACK HERE!!!" a female voice screamed, interrupting their conversation.

Hijikata and Kondo looked over towards the backyard once more and saw the trio run by closely followed by Din. They could see that she was growing tired as they ran out in front of her, ready to turn around another corner. Hijikata was about to get up and stop the useless play when Din pulled out a knife from her kimono and threw it. It landed right in front of the trio, stopping them from turning the corner.

"Give…," Din said as she panted. "Give me back…that box."

"Shit she's serious!" Sanosuke said as he held tightly to the box.

"Yeah!" Shinpachi and Heisuke answered together as they looked towards the sharp knife.

Din walked over to the trembling trio and snatched the box back from them. As she walked by Hijikata's room once more, Tetsunosuke walked into his room with tea and spotted Din.

"You got your box Din-san?" Tetsunosuke asked.

"Yes," she answered with a large breath of air.

"Oh what's in the box Din-chan?" Kondo asked innocently.

Din blushed. "Sorry Isami-kun, I'd rather not talk about it."

"It's a bunch of love letters!" Shinpachi said as he and the others ran up behind her. She turned around to glare at them, but discovered that they had disappeared.

"Love letters?" Kondo laughed as he patted the spot next to him. "Why don't you let me read a few of them?"

"Uh." Din held the box tightly. "I don't know if Hijikata would be comfortable with that."

"Why?" Hijikata glared towards the woman.

"Because _you_ wrote them," she answered, her blush deepening. "This box is full of the letters you used to write when we couldn't see each other."

"Huh." Hijikata looked away and closed his eyes. "Nothing more then firewood now. Hurry up and throw them away."

Din looked away from Hijikata and gripped the box in her arms. Kondo could see the normal look behind her eyes suddenly disappeared, and was replaced by an upset, hurt look. Kondo moved his hand out towards her to comfort her but before he could, she stepped away from him and walked back into her room.

"Toshi-kun." Kondo sighed.

"Hum?" Hijikata looked over towards his old friend. "What?"

* * *

Night had fallen and dinner had been served thanks to Shinpachi who took Din's place because of her injured arm. Tatsunosuke had just finished working for the day and found himself standing outside of Din's room.

_I don't know if I can do it._ Tatsunosuke told himself as he took a big breath inwards.

He had finally told himself that he was going to ask her if she wanted to go out on her birthday. He was afraid that she would say no, or that it was too early for her to decide something like that but he felt as if he had to ask her now. Finally gathering up all of the courage, he knocked on her door.

After a few moments of silence, Din slid the door open from the other side and smiled when she saw Tatsunosuke. Not saying anything, she moved to the side, telling him to come in. He smiled back at her, his heart slamming against the front of his chest, and stepped into the room, allowing her to close the door.

"Hey Tatsu-kun," Din said, breaking the silence. "What is it?"

"Hum, Din-chan," Tatsunosuke said, feeling his stomach cramp suddenly. "Are you doing anything on your birthday?"

Din looked to the side for a moment. "Not that I know of right now. Why?"

"Because I was…wondering," Tatsunosuke felt a blush cross his face, "if you wanted to go out for dinner with me."

Din blinked. "Sure. I'd like that."

"Really?" Tatsunosuke looked up at Din with surprise. He didn't think that she would say yes.

"Yeah." Din nodded. "I think my arm should be fine by then so I should be able to go without any kind of pain. Where do you want to go?"

He twitched. "I'll find somewhere to go."

"Alright then." Din closed her eyes as her smile grew. "Just tell me when you find out. I can't wait to go."

* * *

"You DID it?!" Heisuke asked in surprise.

"Yeah." Tatsunosuke looked down as he blushed once more.

The trio, plus the two Ichimura brothers, and Susumu were sitting on the back step of the bedroom's open backdoor. The talking between the trio and Tatsunosuke had attracted Tetsunosuke, as well as Susumu who thought he should catch up on all of the gossip between everyone in the dojo.

"I can't believe she said yes!" Shinpachi said as he laughed. "Maybe she does like you Tatsu-kun!"

"Uh…thanks," Tatsunosuke said as he twitched.

"How far are you plannin' to take this date?" Susumu asked, crossing his arms.

"What do you mean?" Tatsunosuke asked innocently.

"Are you plannin' to take her back to a private room?" Susumu laughed a bit and leaned against the wall behind him.

"NO!" Tatsunosuke yelled as his blush returned to his face. "I'm just going to take her out to dinner and bring her back home! I'm not going to do or except anything more!"

"Just don't get too mushy with her," Tetsunosuke huffed as he crossed his arms.

"What are you talking about Tetsu-kun?" Tatsunosuke blinked.

"Don't let her hold your hand or kiss you or anythin'." Tetsunosuke looked back towards his older brother and moved his index finger back and forth. "She might want to move faster then you do!"

"Tetsu-kun!" Tatsunosuke yelled. "Don't think like that! Who put those ideas into your head!?"

"Puppy-kun has a point," Heisuke said, coming back into the conversation. "What are you going to do if she makes a move on you?"

"Go along with it!" Sanosuke said with a laugh.

Susumu pushed himself away from the wall and began walking away. "Be careful with her Tatsu-kun, she might want something you can't give her."

"What?" Tatsunosuke twitched once more and blushed.

"Yeah take everything easy when you're out with her," Sanosuke said, leaning in towards the red head. "If you want to hold her hand, bump yours next to hers and call it an accident. She can't know that you want her."

"Why not?" Tetsunosuke asked, looking up at the much taller man.

Heisuke moved towards the smaller red head. "He has to lead her on. That way she'll come crawling to him."

"For what?" Tetsunosuke blinked cutely.

"Nothing!" Tatsunosuke stood up. "Nothing at all can we please just all go to bed? I'd rather not discuss this out loud!"

"Fine, fine." Sanosuke moved his hand back and forth. "Come on guys, let's get to bed."

"Night!" Shinpachi and Heisuke said to the others while they stood up.

"Good night." Tatsunosuke said, the blush still heavy on his face.

* * *

Din was sitting down on her futon, and had just finished cleaning and had covered the fire in the room. She began to get underneath her covers when she heard a slight knocking coming from her backdoor. Worried that it might have been some kind of emergency, she sat up and walked over to the door, and opened it.

"Hey Cowgirl!" Ryoma whispered.

"Ryoma!" Din grabbed his shirt and pulled him in, and then closed the door. "What the hell are you doing here?! You're going to get yourself locked up!"

"But you'll let me out right?" He whispered as he grabbed the sides of her face and moved her face towards his only to have her turn her head.

Confused, he moved his upper lip to his right side. "What's up Cowgirl?"

"You really love me don't you?" she asked, keeping her eyes hidden.

"Yeah! I won't come here for nothin'!" He whispered with a small laugh. "Why you askin' something like that?"

"I want to be with Hijikata. I don't know if it's my heart or what but I want to be with him just like we used to be but something inside of me is telling me to be with Shi as well."

"I'm confused," she admitted, moving her head into Ryoma's chest.

"'Bout?"

"If I really love you as much as you love me," she answered.

"If you didn't love much as much as I love you then you wouldn't have waited for me down at the docks everyday," he answered as he began to pet her head. "You wouldn't have cried so hard when I asked you to marry me, and you would be out there tellin' on me right now."

"I think I still love Hijikata."

Ryoma closed his eyes, and his left hand gripped her kimono. "I can't tell you who to love, but I can tell ya…that I love you."

"Ryoma," Din whimpered. "I want to be with you."

He moved his hand down and picked up her chin, making her look at him. "Is that a solid fact?"

"Yeah," she said with a smile, and a trail of tears falling down her face.

She felt strange saying that she wanted to be with Ryoma. She knew that it was something that she had wanted but Hijikata still lingered in the back of her mind, and her feelings for him did as well. But along with the feelings, she knew that Hijikata was never going to do anything on, if any, of the feelings he had. She was tried of waiting around for him, but this, perhaps, would cause him to realize everything.

* * *

R&R please! 


	26. Date

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Setsuna, and the new character, Seimura.

Here it is

Kyuuketsuki-san: You've been so sweet to me by reviewing over and over again, and you've been keeping in touch with me and I love it! You're such a talented artist and such a wonderful writer and I can't wait for you to update on everything! Whenever I read one of your reviews, I want to go and work on this story instead of just letting it sit here like this. You're such a sweetie!

Buffalocatz : Your reviews have been sweet as well and always manage to make me smile! I can't wait for your review whenever I update so I hope you review on this as well! I don't know you as well as I know my other reivewer, but I hope to learn more about you!

Enjoy!

* * *

When the misty sun touched Din the next morning, she looked to her side to see that her bed was empty. She sighed, and pushed her face down into her pillow, looking for Ryoma's scent only to find nothing.

"Ryoma," she whispered.

A knocking came to her door. She called out that it was all right to enter, and Souji opened the door with an unusual look of disappointment on his face. Worried, Din sat up and patted the floor next to her as Souji closed the door.

"Din-nee…" Souji lowered his head and stood beside the door. "I know who your fiancée was."

Din lowered her head as well, and balled her fists up. Silence came between them for a moment, and Din looked towards the right side of the wall. This was something she had been fearing ever since Ryoma began running around and spreading westernized ideas.

"Who told you?" she asked.

"Ryoma-san did," Souji answered. "When I found you, he helped me to carry you back here. Din-nee…if he is arrested he will be jailed and possibly executed. What are you going to do then?"

"If he is jailed," Din began, "then I will be jailed with him. If he is executed, I will go with him."

"Din-nee, I'm asking you not to get too involved with him." Souji tucked his arms together. "I don't want to put you in jail."

Din looked back up towards Souji. "It's too late for that Souji-kun. I've chosen what I'm going to do. I'm sorry."

"But Din-nee!" Souji moved his head back up to look at her. "I don't want to do anything like that to you! Please Din-nee—"

"Souji-kun," Din smiled, "it won't. Please don't worry about it right now. If it does happen, I won't do anything against you. Now please, I have shopping to do."

"Even with your sore arm?"

"I'll be fine." Din stood up. "I just have to pick up a few things and make a small stop of my own."

"Alright." Souji sighed. "Call me if you need my help."

"I will."

* * *

Souji walked into Hijikata's room to see that he had just woken up. At first he didn't say anything because of what had happened in the other room, and even thought about telling Hijikata everything but then remembered that she could be punished. Trying to get over it, he sat beside Hijikata and sighed loudly.

"What is it?" Hijikata finally asked.

"Could you please go out with Din-nee? She's going shopping and I'm worried she's going to get hurt with her arm like that," Souji fluttered his eyes.

"Fine." Hijikata stood up and stretched his arms upwards. "Where is she?"

"She should be out by the front gate." Souji smiled, he knew he could get Hijikata to do what he wanted if he tried hard enough.

Hijikata stood up and straightened out his kimono. He looked back towards Souji to see him smiling and looked away, trying not to smile himself from seeing Souji so happy. He then walked over to the backdoor and opened it only to see that rain was slowly drizzling downwards.

"I'd better grab a thicker kimono." Hijikata sighed.

* * *

Hijikata walked out of his room, through the front door, and over to the gates where he saw Din standing. With a sigh, he walked over to her with an umbrella in his right hand. She heard him walking up to her, so she turned around.

"What are you doing up so early?" Din asked, blinking.

"Souji-kun wants me to help you carry things in," Hijikata answered as he caught up with her.

"Oh." Din looked away from him and sighed. "I'm only going to pick up a few things…and then I have a small personal stop to make."

"I don't care." Hijikata opened the umbrella and brought over his and her head.

"Alright then," she said with another, somewhat annoyed sigh. "Come on."

Hijikata and Din began to walk together underneath the umbrella in silence. The streets they were walking on remained empty, perhaps because of the rain around them, or maybe because of the early time.

"This makes us look like a couple," Din said playfully.

He didn't answer back. Din rolled her eyes, and focused on the upcoming shops instead of what he was thinking.

The couple soon joined up with a large crowd of people who were also carrying umbrellas. They stopped at random shops and picked up the small things Din needed in order to make meals for the next few days. Hijikata held everything Din picked up, and made sure she didn't carry anything too heavy. After picking up all of the food, Din stepped away from Hijikata, leaving him outside of a small store.

"Don't you want to come in?" Din asked, popping her head back out of the store. "I don't want you to freeze out here, come on. We can find something to carry the food in."

Sighing, Hijikata came into the small shop and out of the rain. He stepped into an open area with small boxes all around, and a woman sitting down in front of a set of stairs. Din was over near the woman, with a smile on her face.

The woman had black hair that was tied back into a small bun with a few strands hanging in front of her face. Her plain brown eyes were looking at Din as she talked, and she was wearing a plain purple kimono with a pink ribbon around her waist. Sitting on the right side of her head was a bright red butterfly clip that stood out against her hair color. She looked younger then Din, and stood a bit awkwardly with her chest poked out.

"So did you get it?" Din asked towards the woman.

"Yes," she answered as she moved towards her right side and grabbed a brown box. "It came in rather quickly after you ordered it."

Din reached down and took the box. "Thank you so much! I really needed this."

"Well you know," the woman, said with a grin, "I do owe you. If you ever want a reading come on by."

"Maybe Hijikata would want one," Din said, looking back towards the other man. "Hijikata, this is Seimura-chan, she's a medium or so she says."

"Din…you know I don't believe in that," Hijikata twitched.

"Oh you will." Seimura said, lifting her arms above her head as she stretched, and showing off of her chest a bit.

"Can we go?" Hijikata sighed and looked away. "I've got duties to take care of."

"Alright, alright." Din moved her right hand back and forth. "Thanks a lot Seimura-chan, I'll come by and see you in a few nights too."

"I look forward to it," she answered with a grin crossing her face. "I'll be waiting!"

As Din walked towards Hijikata to leave, she grabbed a wooden crate and placed everything they had into it. Hijikata took the box, and walked out with it, Din following behind him with her own box.

The two were now walking down the street that would take them to the Shinsengumi only to notice that they were alone. The rain around them had picked up, and was pounding away on the top of their umbrella.

"You're acting strange," Hijikata said, breaking the silence. "I haven't you seen you this flamboyant in a while."

"It's nothing," she said, showing Hijikata another smile.

"Your birthday is in five days, are you planning anything?" Hijikata asked, trying to keep the conversation from becoming stale.

"I'm going out with Tatsu-kun," she answered, a slight jump in her step. "He's taking me out somewhere."

"What?" Hijikata twitched. "_He's_ taking you somewhere?"

"Yes," she said, looking over at him strangely. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Hijikata growled. "I used to do that."

"Well I didn't think you would do it this year. Besides, he asked first," Din said with a teasing tone behind her voice. "We always did something else anyway."

Hijikata blushed. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing." She grinned and closed her eyes. "But Hijikata," she said in a more serious tone, catching his attention, "I want to make something of this birthday. Something tells me that this will be one of my last with you."

"Why?" he asked, blinking.

"It's just something I know of."

"You're not leaving are you?" Hijikata stopped walking; she stopped as well.

Din lowered her head and felt pain from her stitches on the back of her neck. "I'll be leaving soon to be where I'm supposed to be."

"You're supposed to be here!" Hijikata yelled over the rain.

Instead of yelling back at him like he thought she would, she surprised him by simply shaking her head back and forth. Irritated now by such a sudden change, Hijikata looked away.

"Even though where I am now makes me feel so warm, there's somewhere else I have to be," she said gently. "Going somewhere where my skills are needed, and where I'll miss your face."

He blinked. Those words ran through him but he couldn't remember where they had come from. Figuring it was for the best, he sighed and started to walk forward with Din following and now talking of something lighter.

* * *

Four days had passed and the weather outside had become much better. The sun was shining down, allowing Din to go out to find a certain something she was looking for. Because Tetsunosuke was bored out of his mind, he went with her to the nearby market.

"Din-chan!" Tetsunosuke yelled as he ran over to her. "Hey Din-chan, can I get some of these?"

"Get whatever you want!" Din said, moving her right hand. "It's not my money!"

Tetsunosuke grabbed a bag of his and Souji's favorite candy and ran back over to Din. She had bought what she wanted so the two left the market, and walked down along the pier, talking about things that had been going on in the dojo.

Now what Din didn't know was that Tetsunosuke had been sent out by the trio to discover what she thought about going out with Tatsunosuke to dinner. Both the trio, and the small red head wanted to know what she thought about Tatsunosuke.

The two found a grassy spot near the pier and sat down to watch the boats come in and out. Tetsunosuke moved the bag of candy out towards Din, only to have her push it back towards him.

"No thanks, I don't like candy that much," she said with a laugh.

Tetsunosuke popped the candy into his mouth. "You're like the demon vice-commander more then I thought."

She twitched. "Don't compare me to him."

"Speaking of the Shinsengumi," Tetsunosuke said, thinking he was being inconspicuous, "what are you doing for your birthday? Aren't you goin' out with Tatsu-nii?"

"Yes." She nodded. "I'm looking forward to it."

"Say," the red head narrowed his eyes, "do you like my brother?"

Din sighed and rested her head on her hands with her elbows on her folded up knees. "Your brother is someone I could marry."

Tetsunosuke found a blush crossing his face. "Really?!"

"Yes," Din said in a dreamy like tone. "Just don't tell him I told you that."

"So you like him?"

Din smiled. "What does it matter to you?" she asked in a playful tone.

Tetsunosuke was about to open his mouth to answer another question when the weird man he had seen before came walking over to them. He watched as he walked over to Din, saw him, and grinned.

"Hey Iron Boy!" he said happily. "How ya been?"

"Fine," Tetsunosuke answered innocently.

"Cowgirl." Ryoma sat down beside her, and Tetsunosuke noticed that Din was now gripping her kimono. "How ya been? I came down here to tell you happy birthday since I won't see you tomorrow."

"Thank you," she said with a smile.

The three sat there and watched the boats move in and out. Tetsunosuke sighed and fell down onto the floor, looking up at the sky.

"One day," Ryoma began, "the three of us will cross that sea. We'll all go to America, and then cross every ocean in the world."

"That'd be nice," Din whispered.

"It would be." Tetsunosuke closed his eyes.

* * *

A half an hour later, and the three were still watching the ocean, only now Tetsunosuke had fallen asleep. Ryoma sighed and leaned back onto his hands, causing Din to look back at him.

"When do you want to leave?" Ryoma asked finally.

"I don't know." Din turned away from him.

"Do you want to?"

"Yes."

"I've got a mission for you to do in the meantime." Ryoma let out another sigh. "It involves Seimura-san."

"Great." Din rolled her eyes. "What do you want me to do?"

"Seimura-san's got a client who's comin' in and I need you to get information from him. You have to fake that you're workin' for her and try to get as much as you can from him about the alliance before we leave for it." Ryoma moved closer towards her. "Alright?"

"Fine." Din nodded. "When?"

"The day after your birthday."

"Ito-san will be here at the end of the week."

Din shook her head. "Fine. I'll do my best."

"That's my girl!" Ryoma grinned.

Din closed her eyes. "We'll leave sometime after April, that's when I'll join up with you."

"Why April?"

"No snow, no rain." Din shrugged. "It'll just be a perfect time I think."

"I'll be countin' down the days!" Ryoma grinned.

* * *

Days had passed, and Tatsunosuke's stomach had been doing flips all day and night until the day he was going to take Din out. He didn't know how he had made it through his days work, or how he had acted as if nothing were going to happen when in his head he kept going over all of the things that could go wrong.

Tatsunosuke was now in main bedroom, sitting down with Tetsunosuke and trying to pull himself together when the trio walked with Susumu.

"Ready yet?" Sanosuke asked as he placed his hands on his hips.

"No." Tatsunosuke twitched. "What do I have to do?"

"Ya know," Shinpachi stepped up, "get a room ready. Or are you going to go into her room tonight?"

"I told you nothing like that is going to happen!" Tatsunosuke shook his head back and forth.

"Well are you going to tell her?" Tetsunosuke asked, looking up at his older brother.

"Tell her what?" Tatsunosuke blinked.

"That you like her," Susumu said, picking up Tetsunosuke's question.

Tatsunosuke blushed. "Maybe…I haven't really thought about telling her yet. I've been too worried about getting through _this _part first."

"Hey," Heisuke grabbed Shinpachi's shoulder, "wanna go see what Din-chan's up to?"

"Sure." He shrugged.

Din was sitting down in her room, in front of a small mirror, putting on a light shade of make-up while Kondo sat behind her with Souji, and Hijikata stood against her back door.

_"I want to make something of this birthday. Something tells me that this will be one of my last with you."_

_And she's spending it with him._ Hijikata thought as he watched her get herself ready. Why with him?

_"I'll be leaving soon to be where I'm supposed to be."_

_Din._ Hijikata closed his eyes.

"Toshi-kun!" Kondo called, bringing Hijikata back to reality.

"Sorry," he answered. "What were you saying?"

Kondo smiled. "Nothing, I was just wondering if you wanted some sake?"

"Yeah."

Hijikata walked over to Kondo and took a small sake cup with Kondo laughed and gave one to Souji. Wanting to know what they were laughing at, Din turned to them and blinked.

"You want some Din-chan?" Kondo asked.

"No thanks," she said, waving her hand back and forth.

"Come on!" Kondo said as she stood up. "I've already poured you some!"

"Sorry," she said with a slight laugh. "You know me, a few sips of that and I'll be drunk. I'll save that for later tonight."

"Huh." Hijikata sat down beside Kondo and took a quick drink.

Souji coughed. "My Din-nee I haven't seen you wearing make-up in ages! I'd forgotten now nice you looked in it."

"Thank you." Din blushed.

"I don't understand why you have to get so dressed up," Hijikata said, closing his eyes once more.

"It's nice to get dressed up once in awhile," Din answered, turning her back on him.

"Don't stay out too long Din-san, the night air is thick with the scent of blood and rain."

The group looked over towards the corner of the room after a slight jump to see Saitou standing there with his arms crossed. The moment Din's eyes landed on him, they changed to a glare and feeling that she was looking at him, Saitou opened his eyes and looked directly at her.

"I'll be home safely, don't worry." Din turned away. "It's nothing to worry about. Oh, Isami-kun, I'll be gone for the next few nights after Ito-san gets here, I have…an old family matter to attend to."

"It's alright," Kondo answered with a smile. "Just be careful while you're out! We can't lose you now."

Din laughed_. April. She thought as her smile grew. I'll be gone…in April.

* * *

_

Din and Tatsunosuke had met up in the dining area and where now heading out towards the front gates when they passed the trio who were on guard that night.

"Have fun," Sanosuke said with a large grin.

"We will," Din teased as she grabbed onto Tatsunosuke's left arm. "Come on, let's go before they say something stupid."

"Alright." Tatsunosuke blushed.

"Don't get too drunk!" Shinpachi called out as they walked down the street. "You don't want to find out what Din-chan's like when she's drunk!"

_I don't?_ Tatsunosuke asked himself as sweat fell down his face. _Please let me make it through this night.

* * *

_

Hijikata was in his room now with Kondo and Yamanami, discussing what was going to happen when Ito showed up the next day. They were planning a small party for him, but it soon grew quiet between the three of them.

"Din is leaving soon," Hijikata blurted out. "I don't know when or how long but she's leaving."

"She said she was going somewhere tomorrow, you don't think she's going to leave us then do you?" Kondo asked, shifting his legs around.

"Maybe it would be good for her to leave us," Yamanami said as he lowered his head. "I think she should go back on her own."

Hijikata growled. "I'm so tired of discussing this, I was just telling you that she was leaving. The sooner the better in my opinion. I'm worried about Ito-san coming here."

"I am too Toshi-kun but…" Kondo sighed.

"But?" Yamanami asked, looking towards Kondo.

"If it's about her I don't want to discuss it." Hijikata turned his head to the side.

"Dammit Toshi-kun don't you understand?" Kondo said, raising his voice a bit; Hijikata looked at him. "Her leaving has some to do with you but think about the others! We have no idea where she's going or doing! Not only are you going to miss her but dammit I'm going to also! Tetsunosuke-kun is going to! Tatsu-kun…will."

Hijikata leaned his back against the wall behind him. "If want to know, ask her. I'm sure she'll tell you."

Kondo looked away. "She hadn't told me anything."

"What?" Hijikata and Yamanami asked at the same time.

"She hasn't been talking to me in the morning." Kondo shook his head. "She's been so busy running in and out of the Shinsengumi…I think something's wrong Toshi-kun."

"Fine I'll try to talk to her." Hijikata sighed.

* * *

R&R please! 


	27. Start

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, all I own in Din, Seimura, and Setsuna.

Thanks to Bonusmosh for reminding me to update ::bows:: Thank you very much!

Anyways, I have a oral surgery to go through later on this week so I'll be updating on Wens to make up for the fact that I won't be able to do it over the weekend like I normally do. Moving away from that, I hope that this chapter makes you smile!

Enjoy!

* * *

Tatsunosuke and Din walked down the streets of people, talking about ordinary things just to pass the time. Tatsunosuke's stomach was normal for once, but the blush on his face wouldn't fade, mostly due to the fact that she had her arm wrapped around his so tightly.

"Tatsu-kun," Din began, "I have something I need to talk to you about soon."

"Alright." He gulped. "When?"

"On the way back," she answered looking up at him.

"Sure."

Din changed the subject to something else as they walked but Tatsunosuke soon stopped talking as they arrived in front of the restaurant. It was a small building with a red flag flapping around in the front, telling Tatsunosuke he was at the right place.

"Wow," Din said as she looked over the place. "Nice choice."

"Thank you." He scratched the back of his head. "Let's get inside."

Once inside they were placed in a small area near the kitchen where they heard the dishes hitting one another, and people talking. Tatsunosuke hung his head; feeling like the night had started off badly because of the noise in the background and hung his head.

"What's wrong?" Din asked as she looked over at him.

"Oh nothing." Tatsunosuke looked back up. "I just don't like where we are."

"You want me to ask them to move us?" Din asked gently. "But to tell the truth, I like hearing all of that, reminds me of what I wanted to do."

"What?"

"Cook professionally." Din smiled. "But that's behind me now."

"Sorry." He hung his head once more.

She blinked. "For what? Tatsu-kun relax! Everything's going to be fine!"

"Oh, sorry."

Din reached across the table and gently grabbed his hand that was lying there. He looked up towards her hand touching his, and then up towards her with his blush returning deeply.

"I'm having a good time," she said gently. "I like being alone with you, everything will be fine."

Tatsunosuke looked back up and smiled. "Alright."

Dinner was now finished, and the two were kneeling down at the table talking to one another, and laughing loudly. Once the talking and laughing died down, Din decided that she would tell him now that she was going to leave, and would like him to come with her later on.

"Tatsu-kun," she began, "there's something I have to tell you."

"Uh me too." Tatsunosuke looked down.

He, on the other hand, wanted to tell her how he felt, and wanted to ask her to be with him, and him only. The stinging feeling came back to his stomach and with the food already in there, he began to feel a bit nauseous.

"I—," they both began at the same time.

A loud crashing noise came from the kitchen next to them, causing them to look over towards the kitchen opening. The people inside were yelling and screaming as dishes crashed together, and fell to the floor in pieces.

"_Sorry!_" a man said in English, catching Din's attention.

Ryoma then came running out of the kitchen and stopped in front of their table as he bent over to catch his breath from running. Din blinked, as Tatsunosuke's nausea grew worse.

"Ryoma!" Din said in surprise.

The dark man looked up towards Din and grinned. "Hey Cowgirl! Happy birthday!"

"This wasn't planned was it?" Din asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope! Not at all!" Ryoma began laughing loudly.

"Get him!" a man yelled from the kitchen. "Don't let Ryoma Sakamoto get away!"

"See ya Dragon boy! Say hello to Iron boy for me!" Ryoma said as he took one last look at the two. "Bye Din!"

"Bye," Din said, rolling her eyes.

Ryoma then ran out of the kitchen just as quickly as he had come, leaving behind a large mess of plates and food. The chiefs were yelling and cursing as they were left to clean up the mess, and the restaurant was soon shut down after. Din and Tatsunosuke had been forced to leave because of everything that had gone wrong and were now standing outside.

"Damn I wanted all of this to go right." Tatsunosuke thought as he hung his head. "I should have picked a different place."

"It's fine!" Din said, patting him on the back. "We ate and that's all that matters! If you want to go somewhere else, I'd be happy to."

"Maybe."

The nausea Tatsunosuke thought he had defeated was now coming back. He felt his full stomach turn upside down and knot and before he could do anything else, a chuck was coming up. He turned away and moved towards the alleyway next to the restaurant where he threw up.

"Tatsu-kun…," Din said with concern as she gently rubbed his back.

I've totally messed up this night. Tatsunosuke told himself over and over again. I can't believe this.

Tatsunosuke finished throwing up and was now just spitting what was left onto the floor as he caught his breath. After a few moments he stood back up and took in a deep breath, which he let out, in a large sigh.

"Maybe we should just get back home then," Din said, placing her hand against his forehead. "You don't have a fever but you'd be better at home."

"Sorry," he said as he held his forehead. "I ruined everything."

"No you haven't," Din said gently. "Come on, let's get you home, maybe walking will make you feel a bit better."

* * *

The two were walking home now, and Tatsunosuke's stomach had finally settled down. Din was holding his arm, but not as tightly as she had been before for fear of making him too warm.

_I should do it_. Tatsunosuke told himself. _If I just bump my hand next to hers, maybe she'll do something._

He moved his hand towards hers, and the back of their hands touched. Din blinked and then looked over at him, and him at her.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked.

"A bit."

"That's good." She sighed with relief and closed her eyes for a moment. "Tatsu-kun… I'm going to be leaving soon, just for awhile."

"How long?" he asked quickly.

"I don't know." She shook her head back and forth. "I'll be back when the snow falls though, and then…"

"What?"

She shook her head once more and then looked up at him with a smile. "Nothing. I'm just happy I'm here with you now."

Their hands met once more, only this time she kept her hand next to his and moved her pinky finger towards his. He moved his back as she placed her head on his shoulder, and kept her eyes closed.

"Tetsu-kun is growing quickly. He'll be an adult soon," she said in almost a whisper.

"I know," Tatsunosuke answered with a sigh.

"He's getting to be very good looking. I hope he doesn't get as good looking as you or he'll end up breaking a lot of girl's hearts."

Tatsunosuke twitched and blushed once more. "Uh…me too," he said, saying the only thing he could think of.

It became quiet between the two as they walked back to the Shinsengumi. The crickets were chirping around them as they passed by houses, and closing stores, and a cool wind blew from behind him, moving her hair forward a bit.

"Will you wait for me?" Din asked suddenly. "When I'm gone Tatsu-kun? Will you wait for me to get back?"

He smiled. "Of course I'll wait."

Din smiled. "I want to take a picture with you before I leave."

"Anytime."

* * *

It was late night when Din finally returned to her room to find her futon had been laid out for her, and the candle was still burning, lighting up the room. She walked in and closed the door behind her and as she walked over to her futon, she spotted four pieces of paper.

One of them looking like a drawing of piglets running around, and was signed by Souji at the bottom. She smiled as she looked over it, and remembered how he had drawn a picture like it once when he was younger.

The other two were small letters, folded over three times. She picked up one of them and opened it only to have a few pieces of money fall onto her bed. Ignoring the money, she read the inside letter.

_Happy Birthday Din-chan! Thirty-one years young and more to go! Bonzai!!-Kondo, Souji, and Yamanami._

_Dorks._ She thought to herself as a large smile crossed her face.

She placed the letter down and picked up the last one. Unfolding it, she saw writing she hadn't seen in a while marking the paper.

_A fool who laughs a red moon, and a laughing lion without courage, a secret I hide behind my hushing finger, all echoes through the empty blue night-Hijikata_

_Wow…a poem instead of a Haiku._ She thought as she reread the letter. _He normally doesn't write like this. He hasn't written me one in years._

Din fell into her bed and moved all of items into a metal box beside her futon. She sat up for a moment and killed the candlelight. Getting undressed, she crawled into bed, and prepared herself for what she would have to the do the next day.

* * *

"The recruitment in Edo was a success," Kondo said, holding up a sake cup, "we seem to have found many strong new men this time."

Everyone, minus the Ichimura brothers and Din, were sitting around a table while Kondo introduced the Shinsengumi group to one of its newest members, Ito. Everyone was sitting down, listening and wondering what this man had to offer.

"Ito-san, as one of our newest comrades, why don't you say a few words?" Kondo asked, turning to the new man.

"Perhaps just a greeting," he said, moving his fan to his mouth. "Being accepted into the Shinsengumi makes this the best year of my life. As you may know, the Chinese name for this year is writing with the characters for "armor" and "child" and in celebration of this happy year, I am going to use these same characters and change my name to Kashitaro Ito."

"Alright!!" Heisuke cheered from the group. "Kashitaro-sensei it is!!"

"Heisuke you idiot are you drunk already?!" Sanosuke asked.

"It's alright, it's a party! Hey Yamanami-san, you don't you want to say something too?" Heisuke asked.

Yamanami moved his hand back and forth. "I'm fine thank you."

"Calm down Heisuke!" Shinpachi said, hitting the other man.

Ito looked around the room, towards the three leaders and a smile crossed his face. Soon the rest of the Shinsengumi members left, leaving only those three leaders with Ito alone.

* * *

"Sine you brought him in, I got my hopes all up," Sanosuke said as he and the other two walked down a hallway.

"He seems like a pretty smart, decent guy to me," Shinpachi answered back

"Exactly!" Sanosuke shook his head. "And that's no fun at all! There ain't one interesting thing about him!"

"Heh, what are you talking about?" Heisuke said, moving his hand back and forth. "Just because he doesn't look interesting doesn't mean he's not!"

"What are you trying to say?" Sanosuke asked, blinking.

"I can't wait until you guys figure out what makes him so much fun!" Heisuke giggled.

"Heisuke…" Shinpachi twitched. "Don't tell me that's why you brought him here."

"I was just half joking." Heisuke turned away. "Don't worry, there's no problem as long as you don't attract his attention."

"And what if we do?" Sanosuke said in shock.

* * *

Back inside of the room with Ito, Hijikata was looking down, thinking to himself while Ito looked over at him with his fan covering his mouth. Hijikata got a strange feeling that someone was looking at him, and found Ito staring at him.

"Fate sure is strange, I'm just the head of a dojo. I never thought I'd be among such important men," Ito said, looking away from Hijikata.

"Hey we _all_ started as students!" Kondo said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Now that the Shinsengumi, the guardians of the imperial capital have accepted me," Ito blushed, "I shall stand against any who would harm this country and exterminate them! I fully intend to support commander Kondo with every once of patriotism in my body."

"Ito-san!" Kondo said as he blushed. "It's so encouraging to hear you say that! Both of us and the Shogunate need men like you, with good heads on their shoulders!"

Hijikata caught Ito looking at him again.

"By the way," Ito moved back towards Kondo, "the captains are most impressive as well."

"Yes they all got through the Ikeda Inn incident well enough!" Kondo laughed.

"They certainly are an attractive bunch…" Ito smiled.

"Yes it's good to be surrounded by such fine men, I just wish they could keep their hands of one another!!" Kondo threw his head back, laughing, causing the other two captains to lower their heads.

Hijikata looked back up to see Ito looking at him again.

_Don't tell me…_ Hijikata thought.

The sounds of someone approaching the door caught everyone's attention. Hijikata stood up and opened the door to see Din reaching for the door with her right hand as if she were about to open it.

"Hijikata," she began, "I'm leaving now."

"Oh Din-chan!" Kondo called. "Come in for a moment and meet Ito-san!"

Din walked in and saw the man sitting in the corner. She blinked for a moment, and then bowed down.

"Hello Ito-san," she said as she bowed. "I'm happy to finally meet you."

"And who are you?" Ito asked, looking at Din strangely.

"She's a cook and an old time friend," Kondo said as he moved his hand towards Din. "Her name is Hinto Din."

"Nice to meet you." Ito smiled and lowered his head a bit. "I'm sure I'll enjoy your cooking."

"Come on," Hijikata grabbed Din's right arm, "we have to talk."

"Excuse me." Din bowed once more.

The two walked out of the room, and Hijikata closed the door behind himself, leaving Yamanami and Kondo alone with Ito. Ito coughed a bit, bringing attention back to himself.

"Who exactly was she?" Ito asked gently. "She seems very close to Hijikata-san."

"Is it that obvious?" Kondo chuckled. He was about to open his mouth once more when he saw Yamanami moving his hands back and forth, telling him not to.

"Oh." Kondo coughed. "They've known each other since the age of seventeen so they're close friends."

"I see." Ito nodded. She'll be interesting. _Yes I think the Shinsengumi shall entertain me!_ He thought as a smile crossed his face.

* * *

"Come on! Don't give me those looks! He likes older guys who have that rugged look to them!" Heisuke explained as he laughed.

"Ew." Shinpachi twitched. "Good thing I'm not older then him." He shuttered. "He creeps me out for some reason."

Sanosuke sighed but then grinned suddenly. "Hey! Let's go bother Tatsunosuke about throwing up on his date with Din-chan!"

"Yeah!" Shinpachi and Heisuke cheered together.

* * *

Hijikata led Din back into his room, and made sure that all of the doors were closed as she looked around. Once everything was sealed off, he walked over towards her and crossed his arms.

"I think he likes you!" Din giggled. "The way he was looking at you, I could tell he was taking your kimono off with his eyes."

He twitched. "Don't say things like that, it's creepy. Anyway, where are you going to be?"

Din crossed her arms. "I'm going to go do something at Seimura-chan's place. I'll be back when the first snow of the season comes."

"Snow?" Hijikata blinked. "Snow won't come for at least another month, you're going to be gone for that long?"

She nodded. "Well I can't stay around here forever. What are you going to do when I leave permanently?"

He sighed and turned away from her. "I'd rather not talk about it right now."

"I'd better get going before I'm late." Din turned away also. "I'll be back soon."

"I know."

Din walked out of the room, and Hijikata listened to her footsteps until he couldn't hear them anymore. He gripped his fists together, ignoring the fact that he wanted to run after her and tell her that she couldn't go. He was getting too attached.

* * *

As Din walked out, she stopped by Tatsunosuke's work place and walked over to him. She sat down beside him as he worked and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh Din-chan!" he said as he twitched. "I'm sorry, I was into what I was doing."

"I'm leaving now," Din said with a sigh. "I just came here to tell you good-bye."

Tatsunosuke blinked. "I'll be waiting for you to come back."

"I'll miss you." Din smiled.

"Me too." Tatsunosuke blushed.

Din stood up and gently patted Tatsunosuke's right shoulder. He gulped as she walked away, telling himself that he would tell her how he felt once she got back. He could hear her close the door and walk away, and it was then he hung his head and sighed.

_I've got to tell her soon. He thought. Before anything else happens._

Din left the Shinsengumi dojo without saying anything to anyone else. She walked down to Seimura's place and set up home, while back at the Shinsengumi more interesting and more playful was happening.

* * *

"SOUJI-KUN!" Hijikata screamed as he chased him through the dojo. "Give me back that book!!"

Kondo watched as Souji ran by, and then Hijikata followed him with his sword drawn. Seeing such a sight, Kondo started laughing.

He must be trying to cheer Toshi-kun up. Kondo thought as his laugh died down. I haven't seen Toshi-kun this active for a while now. I hope this keeps his mind off of Din-chan. I wonder how much Souji-kun and Tatsu-kun will miss her.

* * *

R&R please! 


	28. Place

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Seimura, and Setsuna.

So I'm updating now because I promised, my oral surgery has been pushed back to next Tuesday because I caught the flu so just because I promised, I'm doing it now.

Thanks for all of the really sweet reviews! They made me feel a lot better then I was so nervous about getting my wisdom teeth yanked out. ::giggle:: Thank you! I love the PMK fans!

Enjoy!

* * *

Two weeks had gone by since Din had left the Shinsengumi, and things had gotten into a schedule that seemed normal. The trio would take turns making dinner and everything else, and Tetsunosuke had been forced to pick up more chores as a result of her leaving which he wasn't happy about.

Rain had come finally, telling Hijikata that the snow would soon come as well. Yamanami on the other hand was on a walk thinking of when he and the others had assonated Kamo. As the thought things over, Ito came over to him, and the two headed back to the Shinsengumi dojo, and entered Ito's private room.

"Ha!" Yamanami laughed. "That's how Heisuke-kun got you to join? That's just like him!"

"Yes, I hadn't seen him in a while but he always did say what was exactly on his mind," Ito said with a slight giggle. "He said I was taking my appointment to captain too lightly."

"Nonsense! You've worked hard to attain it! Commander Kondo-san has big hopes for you too." Yamanami moved his right hand back and forth. "You are a very capable person, I'm sure you'll be essential to the Shinsengumi. Please aid them to the best of your abilities."

Ito turned his head. "As I thought…from your choice of words it feels that there's some distance between yourself and the Shinsengumi."

Yamanami blinked, surprised that he had picked up on it.

"You think that no one at the Shinsengumi understands you! You think you don't fit in here!"

_Din-san_. Yamanami hung his head.

"Is that so?" Yamanami asked, looking back up. "How strange…"

"This is nothing but my own conjecture but," Ito moved up to Yamanami's face, "it seems you don't feel quite comfortable here in the Shinsengumi. Perhaps you have doubts as to the direction of the group is heading. Am I right?"

Yamanami blinked and pulled away as Ito came closer and closer towards him.

"You are a vice-commander, are uncomfortable with the group's direction. This would indicate you don't get along with one of the other executives. Commander Kondo-san? It's the one who really runs the show here—"

"NO!" Yamanami yelled, feeling that he was crossing the line. "The Shinsengumi is _fine_. Besides Hijikata-kun thinks more about the group then anyone else. If there is a problem then it's just with _me_ alone."

Yamanami then stood up and excused himself. He wanted to get away from everything that was going on, and walked back outside with an umbrella over his head.

He walked through out town, trying to get his mind off of what was happening at the Shinsengumi and for some reason, he found himself looking for Din. He remembered how he had helped him when she had a problem, and was wondering if he should talk to her since she would understand what he was talking about when it came to Hijikata.

Din-san…where are you? He wondered.

As he walked down the street, he spotted Din standing outside of a store, taking down the banner in the front. He walked over to her quickly, and grabbed her shoulder.

"Yamanami-kun," she said in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Sure."

Din led Yamanami into the building and passed Seimura who was setting out long pieces of cloth onto the floor. She eyed Yamanami and giggled a bit.

"Another client Din-chan?" she asked, fluttering her eyes. "You've already handled so many today."

Din rolled her eyes. "Come on Yamanami-kun."

She led him up a small flight of wooden stairs and into a hallway. She took the last door, and walked in with him. As soon as he walked in, she closed the door behind him, and closed the nearby window.

"Sorry for Seimura-chan," she said, slipping the thick kimono off, showing a more boyish outfit underneath. "She's got a dirty mind. So what's wrong?"

"What are you doing here?" Yamanami asked blinking, ignoring her other question.

"A job for someone." She grinned. "I'm supposed to be the day fortune teller while Seimura-chan works at night. Is there something wrong at the Shinsengumi?"

"It's just," Yamanami looked away, "Hijikata. I don't feel like I belong in the Shinsengumi anymore…whatever I do there is always treated so badly, and Hijikata-kun is always one step above me it seems. I'm always arguing with him and it makes me feel like I don't belong there."

"Huh." Din grabbed a bag full of a small food and handed it to Yamanami who pushed it away. "You've always been that way with him though." She began as she ate a small piece of food Yamanami couldn't make out. "You two never agree on the same thing, like you and I. That's why I came to you that one time, and maybe that's the reason he comes to you."

Yamanami sighed. "Perhaps."

Din looked at him, and then sighed also. "Well you know Hijikata, what he thinks is right he'll say until his dying day, even if you prove him wrong." She stood up and walked over to the window. "No matter what, he'll always think that he's right and you're wrong."

The room grew quiet as Yamanami concentrated on the voices coming from downstairs. One of them sounded a bit familiar but he couldn't remember where he had heard the voice from before.

"I think you belong in the Shinsengumi though," Din said, breaking the silence. "You're important, and if anything I know Isami-kun really values your input."

Yamanami found something comforting in that. "Thank you Din-san. I hope you come back home soon."

"Come on," she hopped off of the window sill, "I'll show you the door."

Din lead Yamanami downstairs where he saw that Seimura was holding a fortune telling to a rather tall man with a hat hanging off of his neck. Din moved him closer to the door, and opened it for him.

"I don't want to disturb Seimura-chan," she whispered.

"I understand," he whispered back. "I'll see you later."

"Alright." She smiled. "Bye."

Yamanami walked out of the door, and opened his umbrella as he stepped onto the street. Din waved quickly, and closed the door.

"Ryoma, I didn't know you were going to show up," she hissed towards the man sitting in front of Seimura.

"Sorry!" he said as he turned around with a grin on his face. "I just wanted to see you again! Besides I got another mission for you!"

* * *

"Damn what a pain," Hijikata hissed as he hung his head while he held his pipe.

Kondo blinked. "Oh you mean Ito-san?"

"Wasn't there anyone else?" Hijikata asked with a sigh. "I can't believe you shook hands with him."

"Why not?" Kondo grinned. "His fingers are slender and pretty for a guy."

"Don't say anymore!" Hijikata sat back up. "I don't know that he's going to be worth anything to us and I don't like how he keeps stressing that he's a loyalist."

"It's alright. We support the Shogunate but we're also loyal to the emperor." Kondo took a bite of a dumpling once he was done talking.

"That may be but still…"

Kondo smiled. "Toshi-kun is there something else bothering you?"

Hijikata sighed.

"Is it Sannan?"

The demon walked over to the window and opened it to see that it was still raining heavily. They remained quiet for a moment as they listened to the rain falling down from the sky above them.

"It's almost that time of year." Kondo smiled. "When the rain turns to snow."

Hijikata moved his pipe back into his mouth. "Yeah. I hope Souji-kun's cold goes away soon before this weather makes it worse."

"Didn't that medicine you gave him work?" Kondo asked.

"He threw it out!"

"Because it tastes horrible!"

A small kitten sitting on top of the roof listened in on the two older men talking and jiggled it's bell. It moved it's umbrella and made sure that it listened to all of their conversation.

* * *

The rain finally broke but instead of changing to sun, it changed to snow. The first snow of the season came when Hijikata announced the rule changes to the men, and how that if any of the new rules were broken, they would be forced to commit Seppuku. The rules were strange and harsh but to Shinpachi, the rules showed just how badly the Shinsengumi was falling apart.

Tatsunosuke's main concern was the fact that Tetsunosuke had been stealing expensive treats from the market once more. He had talked to him about it not moments before, and now he had found the treats hidden inside of Tetsunosuke's pockets.

"Tetsu-kun!" Tatsunosuke called out. "Come here!"

The smaller red head peaked around the corner. "Yes onii-chan?"

"Get over here!" Tatsunosuke pointed to the spot in front of him. "What is this? You told me that you would stop!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Tetsunosuke kicked the floor playfully.

Tatsunosuke sighed. "You're getting so bad with stealing that I'm afraid to take you to the market! What am I going to do with you?"

Tetsunosuke looked up to answer when he saw Din walking up from behind. He blinked and pointed towards her, and Tatsunosuke to turn around.

"Hey Tatsu-kun," she said gently. "I was just coming to see you."

"Din-chan." He blinked. "Welcome back."

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Din-chan!" Tetsunosuke stepped out from behind his older brother and grinned.

"Hey Tetsu-kun."

"ICHIMURA!" Hijikata yelled. After hearing his name, Tetsunosuke ran away from the two and over to his master.

Din walked towards Tatsunosuke once the smaller red head was out of the room, and hugged him tightly. He blushed and hugged her back, not understanding why she was hugging him so tightly.

"I missed you a lot," she whispered.

His blush grew deeper. "I missed you too."

Din then pulled away with a smile on her face. "Do you know where Souji-kun is? I want to see him."

"He's in the back." Tatsunosuke moved away from her.

"Thanks. I'll see you at dinner alright?" she said as she began to walk away.

"Sure." He blinked with a smile crossing his face.

* * *

Yamanami was sitting outside with Souji, watching him as he played with a gang of local children. Souji soon came over and sat down beside Yamanami as he puffed hot air onto his hands to warm them back up.

"I haven't heard anyone call you by that name in a while," Yamanami said.

"No one would let "Souji Okita" play with them." Souji giggled.

Yamanami puffed up his cheeks as he tired to hold back his laughter. "I see, they wouldn't let you play with them huh?"

"No!" Souji moved his hand back and forth. "I mean I wouldn't play with them!"

"When I first met you, you were about the same age as them." Yamanami sat forward. "Din-san was always by your side whenever I saw you."

"But I wasn't as sweet or as innocent." Souji leaned forward as well. "It's cooold! Is the year over already?"

"It went by so fast."

"Time flies in central. Last year we barely had time to breathe and it looks like it's going to be the same this year. I'll probably be an old man before I know it!" Souji giggled once more.

"People change even in a single year." Yamanami twitted his fingers together.

"I think Hijikata-sama was right in that meeting." Souji sighed, catching Yamanami's attention. "But I think you're even more right."

"Souji-kun!" Din said, breaking through Yamanami's thoughts. "Hey Souji-kun!"

"Din-nee!" he said happily as he ran over to her. "You're back!!"

Souji jumped on Din and wrapped his arms and legs around her tightly. She hugged him back tightly and he then jumped off of her and clapped his cold hands together.

"I've missed you!" Souji cheered.

"I've missed you too." Din smiled. She looked over towards Yamanami and waved, and he waved back to her instead of saying anything.

* * *

An hour later of talking to Souji about things that had happened while she was gone, Din walked into Hijikata's room, and closed the door behind herself. He looked up from the writing he was doing and blinked.

"When did you get back?" he asked as he blinked.

"I came to tell you that I have to stay out longer," Din said seriously, in a tone Hijikata hadn't heard come from her mouth before. "I came here for one day, and then I'm going back out."

"For how long?"

"Until the end of February." Din's hands gripped her kimono tightly.

"That's two months from now!"

"I know." Dun hung her head. "But it's something I have to do."

Hijikata looked away from her. "What are you doing?"

"I can't tell you." Din shook her head.

He jumped up and grabbed her arms tightly. She squeaked from the surprise but kept her head lowered as he shook her.

"Tell me where you're going," he demanded. "I want know _now_."

"No," she said back. "I'm not going to."

I'm leaving in April. She told herself. Leaving, forever. Leaving in April.

"What the hell is going on!?" Hijikata yelled. "I want you to tell me right now dammit!"

"You don't understand!!" she yelled back, now looking at him in the face as tears fell down her face. "You're so blind and stupid that you don't understand!!"

Hijikata growled from her calling him stupid and moved his right hand, and hit her across the face. Her head moved to the side but she ignored what had just happened and kept talking.

"I'm leaving in April and I'm never coming back! I want to stay as long as I can but I can't! I don't want to leave!!"

"What?" Hijikata blinked in surprise. "Why?"

"My duty!" she said as she shook her head. "My Goddamn duty! I missed everyone too much! I can't do this!"

"I'm countin' on you Cowgirl! You're gonna help me clean up Japan!" 

"I miss him," she whimpered as she lowered her head, and it hit Hijikata's collarbone. "I have to go…I have no choice."

"Din…."

"I missed you too much, even for just a damn month. How am I supposed to deal with leaving you forever?" she whispered.

Her hands left her kimono and grabbed the front of Hijikata's. She tugged on him once, then twice until he finally got the message, and let her rest against his chest. Her crying continued but he didn't do anything to stop it, he was still in shock about what she had said.

_Leaving…forever_. Hijikata thought. _Din…

* * *

_

A few hours had passed since Din talked to Hijikata, and she had already served dinner. Everyone was now going back to their rooms in order to get some sleep. Tatsunosuke was looking forward to seeing Din in the morning, not knowing that she would be gone when he woke up. Wanting to know more about what was going on, Hijikata walked into Din's room to see her sewing something.

"What's that?" he asked, standing by her open door.

"I'm making something for Souji-kun since he's sick," she answered, not looking up to him. "I started too late but I'm sure he'll use it anyway."

Hijikata sighed. "I don't want you to leave permanently," he admitted. "I'd like you to stay here with us."

"I would too." Din sighed. "But I have to leave. I'm sorry for what I said before, I wasn't thinking."

Hijikata shook his head. "It doesn't matter. Can you tell me where you're going?"

"This time I can't," she confessed as she dropped her sewing. "But Hijikata…if something happened to me, would you protect me as much as you could?"

"Of course."

"I would do the same to you," she said gently. "That's why I have to leave, I've put you at too much risk. I'm sorry."

"What are you involved in?"

"Something you don't stand for." She closed her eyes for a long moment. "Please don't ask anymore. I'm just telling you, I'll protect you as long as I can."

"And I will too."

* * *

The next morning Tatsunosuke walked into the kitchen expecting to see Din but saw an empty kitchen instead. He sighed loudly and walked into his workroom where he saw a note sitting on his desk.

What's that? He asked himself as he walked over to it.

_Tatsu-kun,_

_I'll be leaving for a bit longer, but I'll be back in two months. After that, when I come back I have to talk to you about something serious. Wait for me, I'll be back soon._

_--Din_

_Din-chan._ He thought, clutching the letter. _Why couldn't you tell me to my face? I hope you come home soon._

* * *

"So what is it Ryoma?" Din asked as she walked beside the taller man. It was early morning so Ryoma wasn't too worried about being caught.

"I have somethin' I wanna show you before you head back over to Seimura-chan's," he answered.

Din followed Ryoma over to the pier. She looked around at the construction and saw the spot where she had kissed Tatsunosuke once. A smile crossed her face as she remembered, but then felt Ryoma grab her hand.

"What?" she asked.

Ryoma grinned and pointed towards the construction. "There. What they're building is for us."

She looked over towards him and blinked. "Us?"

"Yup!!" A wider grin crossed his face. "That's the house I'm havin' built for us! We're gonna live in it once Japan is cleaned up!"

"A house…," Din whispered.

"We'll be together once Japan is cleaned up! Then we won't have anything to worry about."

So many feelings came over Din at once. She felt her cheeks blush but tears fall down from her eyes and her hands came up to her mouth in surprise. Her mouth opened in awe as she tried to sort the feelings inside of her but couldn't.

"Ryoma!"

Din turned to Ryoma and buried her face into his side as she cried loudly. His smile stayed on his face and he turned around to her, and hugged her tightly.

"It's alright Din-chan. It's alright," Ryoma whispered.

* * *

R&R please! 


	29. Death

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Seimura, and Setsuna.

Stupid document thing finally let me update! I was tryin' all day yesterday! Anyways, thanks for the sweet reviews, it hard to believe that on my other computer this thing has almost reached forty chapters. Yes I thought it too, how much longer can this go on? But with what's happenin' in the 4th and 5th mangas, I have a lot to go on. Let's start this shall we?

Enjoy!

* * *

Din was long gone and because he was bored, Yamanami had gone to Shimbara to see Akesato. They were sitting around and Akesato was busy looking at a sword Yamanami had brought in the other day.

"Yamanami-kun," she began as she held up the sword, "this sword…"

"Oh that?" Yamanami turned back to her. "Yeah it's a shame, but I think I've changed my mind. Tomorrow I'm going back to the one I used to use. I remembered a few good things in the past few days, and I feel like I can keep trying my best."

"That's good." Akesato smiled.

Yamanami walked home on his own and found a kitten sitting outside of Hijikata's room. He petted the kitten, and then walked over to the door when he heard what sounded like Hijikata and Kondo.

"He threw it out!" a voice like Hijikata said.

"Haha, because it tastes terrible!" Kondo responded.

"Damn what a pain," Hijikata said as Yamanami reached for the bedroom door.

"Oh you mean Sannan?" Kondo asked, making Yamanami stop what he was doing.

"We need to put an end to him soon."

"_I think you belong in the Shinsengumi though."_

Yamanami turned away from the door and walked away from the hallway without thinking or saying another thing. Once Yamanami was out of the hallway, the kitten like person stepped out from the room, jiggling it's bell.

"You're leaving already?" Akesato asked as she let a puff of smoke go.

"Sorry." Yamanami shook his head. "I just remembered something I had to do."

"Jeez, I hate that Shinsengumi."

She looked at the way he was standing near the window with his eyes and mind somewhere else.

"Yamanami-kun, is something wrong?" she asked, taking her pipe out of her mouth.

"No." Yamanami smiled. "Everything's fine."

That was the last night Yamanami spent at Shimabara. That was the night that Yamanami disappeared, and left everything behind.

* * *

"We don't know for sure that he's run away!!!" Heisuke screamed towards Sanosuke.

"Ow! I was just saying what if's that's all!" Sanosuke watched as Heisuke let go of his shirt.

"Still, just don't say things like that!" Heisuke shook his head.

"It's been three days," Shinpachi said in a low tone.

"Kondo-sama." Heisuke looked towards the older man. "I don't think we need to search for him. He's probably just wandering around somewhere; I'm sure Sannan with show up today or tomorrow."

"If not, we might've just gone out for no real reason," Saitou said, making Heisuke turn around to him. "Are you sure about that? Can you really say that he left for no reason?"

Everyone froze, and then looked over towards Hijikata who was sitting and looking out towards his backdoor while his pipe emitted smoke from his stance. He finally took a deep breath in and spoke.

"We don't know if he's run away or if he's dead, but we have to find him. Gather our spies. Descend on the Capital and get all the information you can," he told Susumu who was standing in front of him.

"Yes sir." Susumu bowed, and then jumped away to do his duty.

Kondo raised his right hand to his face and covered his mouth. "For now, everyone all we can do…is trust him."

_Din._ Hijikata thought. _Will you leave like this?_

* * *

Din was standing in front of the construction where the house where she and Ryoma would live to see that it was finally finished. She blinked as she stood in front of it, in amazement that was finally finished.

It was a small wooden house that stood with the ocean behind it, and boats leaving and coming. The sun was setting behind it, making it look as if it were sitting on the ocean instead of the land and making Din fall more and more in love with it.

He got it done. Din thought with a smile. We have somewhere to live…

"Hey!" Ryoma said as he came out of the house. "Come inside!"

Din laughed as she ran into the house and into the room that would be their bedroom. She looked around with a grin, and building excitement the more and more she took in the new sight.

"Din, there's something I wanna ask you," Ryoma said as he came into the room.

"What?" Din blinked.

"Well ya know," Ryoma couched as he walked over to her, "since we're gonna be living together and all of that, I was wonderin'…"

"What?" Din asked again as she walked over to him and met him in the middle of the room.

Ryoma took in a deep breath. "Will you marry me?"

Din blinked and paused. "_What_?"

"Will you marry me?" Ryoma asked once more, only this time with more confidence. He reached into his kimono and pulled out a chain with a ring on it. "I want you to marry me."

"Ryoma…"

Din felt the happiness she had felt when she saw the house enter her once more. Before she could think or say anything else, she jumped forward and hugged Ryoma tightly. He grinned and hugged her back, moving his face next to hers.

"Is that a yes?" he whispered.

"Yes!" she cheered. "I'll marry you!"

"Perhaps it would be better for you to leave with Shi and do whatever you want with him and if things don't work out, Hijikata-kun will always be waiting for you."

_This is the right step I know it._ Din thought. _This is my second chance and I'm not going to lose it. I'm going to take it before it's too late. Ryoma…_

* * *

Souji was now out on his horse, looking for Yamanami, just as he had promised Hijikata and Kondo. He spotted a horse sitting on the riverbank, so he galloped over there to see Yamanami getting a drink of water while Souji halted his horse.

"Yamanami-sama," Souji said seriously.

"They sent you to find me," Yamanami said with a smile. "Oh I see they know I can't draw my sword against you. Even if I could, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"It wasn't an order," Souji answered back. "I came on my own, no matter how far you try to run or how big a crowd you try to hide in, I will find you. That's why I came."

Yamanami looked back at Souji, and his grin grew. "Okay. I'm sorry for causing so much trouble. Shall we go? I'm prepared to accept my punishment."

Souji turned away from him. "Very well. Let's go back then, you still have something to do for the Shinsengumi."

The older man looked back. "Okita-kun…"

"No matter what excuse you come up with I will no accept it," Souji said sternly. "No matter how cold Hijikata-sama acts on the surface he needs you. You know that right? And you must know that everyone likes you. This won't end with you just cutting your stomach!" Souji closed his eyes. "I don't care what it takes; we'll come up with something to convince everyone…something…anything!!! Just ask! They might let you live!"

"Okita-kun," Yamanami said gently as he opened his eyes. "That's enough, thank you. And I'm sorry."

Souji moved down from his horse and bent down to hug Yamanami tightly. The older man smiled and squeezed the boy he had known for so long.

"Why?" Souji whimpered. "Why did you desert us?"

"Good question," Yamanami whispered back. "I just kind of…wanted to get out."

Yamanami was brought in front of everyone in the Shinsengumi and then brought back into the backyard where he was isolated from the rest of the members but Hijikata, Kondo, and Souji.

"Why?" Kondo asked, moving his hand to his head. "Why did you do it Sannan? Do you want to desert us? Well?"

"The root lies with yourself and the vice-commander. You should ask yourselves," Yamanami said, finally confessing what was wrong.

"What?" Kondo asked in shock. "What is that supposed to mean Sannan!?"

"Are you trying to say that _we_ ran you out?" Hijikata accused as he stood up.

"Ran me out," Yamanami repeated. "Well you'd kill anyone who gets in your way so that that is the case."

"Are you serious?" Hijikata looked at Yamanami, the look on his face telling him how wrong he was. "You really think…that you'd be in our way?"

"You fool." Kondo hung his head and twisted his facial features in pain.

He had been wrong. Yamanami's eyes widened as he remembered hearing them talk about him and wondered if he had heard everything right. His heart began pounding away in his chest as he discovered that he _must_ have been wrong but then another reality set in. One he couldn't escape.

"By the way," Yamanami began, "I don't see Ito-san or the other executives. Why aren't they here?"

"We've kept this incident a secret," Kondo explained. "The seven of us earlier members, Saitou-kun, Tetsu-kun, and the spies are the only other ones that know."

Yamanami smiled and bowed. "Please tell everyone as soon as possible. Tell them that vice-commander Keisuke Yamanami is guilty of deserting the Shinsengumi and as punishment, will commit Seppuku."

Hijikata twitched at those words. Every emotion and bit of stress that was weighing down on him at that moment finally snapped, and he ran towards Yamanami with his sword and stood in front of him.

"This is your soul from when you were a samurai," Hijikata hissed as he held out Yamanami's old sword. "The least you can do now is cut your stomach like a true samurai."

Yamanami sat up and smiled. "Today is February twenty-third right Hijikata-kun? This is the day we set foot in the capital as part of the Roshigumi. It's a day to remember. Whatever happens from now…I pray that it will _mean_ something."

Suddenly, Yamanami drew his sword and ran out towards Hijikata, causing Kondo to jump up. Yamanami's sword fell on Hijikata's shoulder but did not cut, seeing this; Kondo sat back down still shaking from the scare.

Then blood fell from Yamanami's mouth.

"Hehe." Yamanami smiled. "You see? Wasn't that an excellent example of the fast draw?"

Souji's sword was deep within Yamanami, and Souji could see blood now seeping out of the wound.

"Once you bare your fangs," Yamanami began, "don't hesitate for a second to kill. Even if it's your friend." The wooden sword fell from his hands. "It's a tribute to your training."

Yamanami fell to the floor with Souji following him because of his sword. Souji saw that Yamanami's sword was made of bamboo and couldn't do any harm only to realize what he had just done. He quickly drew his sword out, causing Yamanami to grunt in pain.

"You've probably forgotten about this already but…long ago, back in Hino…you asked me to do something," Yamanami began as he fell to his knees, still holding onto Hijikata and dragging him down. "But I was helpless and…I'm sorry. I'm sorry Hijikata-kun, please regret this."

The words hit Hijikata and triggered memories he had forgotten over time. Before he could think any of them over, Yamanami dragged him down further.

"The only way I can stop you…is by making you do what you hate most. So please regret this…and don't do anything else…you'll regret."

Blood began to pool underneath Yamanami's legs and Hijikata could feel the blood staining his clothing. Everything on Hijikata was beginning to become stained with deep red blood, and soon he could feel it against his skin.

"Don't…," Yamanami whispered. "Let Din-chan become something you regret…please, watch after…her."

"Enough Sannan!" Kondo called out. "That's enough! Souji-kun…please be his second."

"Souji-kun." Yamanami turned to him. "Please…it hurts."

Souji lined his sword up with Yamanami's neckline as he closed his eyes and got ready to feel the pain stop. He could hear Souji raise his sword, and the sounds of Kondo crying. The sound of Souji's sword swooping down soon became the only thing Yamanami could hear and then…

Silence.

* * *

Three days. Three small days had passed since Yamanami had committed Seppuku, and everyone had already said goodbye. Kondo had kept himself in his room, and just made decisions from there, while Hijikata sat, looking outside of his back room and didn't say anything to anyone. The Shinsengumi was quiet, and felt so empty compared to what it usually was, and the quiet, dead Shinsengumi, was the Shinsengumi Din came home to.

"Hijikata!" Din called as she strolled into his room with a brown box in her arms. "Hijikata…what's wrong?"

"You…you haven't heard?" Hijikata asked as smoke from his pipe came up from him.

"Heard what?" Din placed her box down and sat down. "What's wrong? This place is so quiet."

"Yamanami…is dead."

Din chocked. "Who killed him?"

"He committed Seppuku for deserting the Shinsengumi."

"Deserting!?" Din yelled. "Why the hell did he leave?!"

"I…he thought he would be in my way." Hijikata closed his eyes.

"So he just took off?" She shook her head. "When did this happen? Where is he now?"

"Three days ago, he's dead and buried at the Koen Temple." Hijikata puffed out a white cloud of smoke.

A burning feeling came from Din's eyes and suddenly tears were falling from them. She shook her head and stretched outwards until she was kneeling down on the floor with her head forward and on the floor.

"Yamanami-kun," she whimpered. "Yamanami-kun!!" she cried.

Hijikata sat there and listened to Din cry and slam her fists down on his floor over and over again. She cried out to his name, asking once in awhile why he had done it, and finally just began crying. It was the same hard crying he had heard come from her when she was talking about her little sister. Her breathing became hard, and he could hear her trying to gain a hold of what her body was going through.

"Yamanami-kun," she whispered as she pushed herself off the floor.

"It's just…Hijikata-kun. I don't feel like I belong in the Shinsengumi anymore… whatever I do there is always treated so badly, and Hijikata-kun is always one step above me it seems. I'm always arguing with him and it makes me feel like I don't belong there."

Din finally got all the way up. "This is all your fault!" she screamed.

Hijikata turned around. "What the hell do you think you're talking about?"

"Yamanami-kun left because of YOU!" she yelled, looking at him in the eyes. "If he hadn't been forced to leave, he wouldn't be at Koen Temple!!"

"What?" Hijikata ripped his pipe out of his mouth and placed it down in a safe place.

"You killed Yamanami-kun!" Din shook her head and slammed her right fist down onto the floor. "He's dead because of you!"

Hijikata jumped up from where he was standing and walked over to Din. She glared up towards him.

"You killed Yamanami-kun," she repeated as they looked at one another.

He found himself glaring towards her, and once again he slapped her across the face. Before he could do anything more, Din moved up and shoved Hijikata away from her. He fell back a bit but placed his left hand behind his back and caught himself. When he looked back up to her, she had scooted away from him and was now sitting up against his wall.

"Don't ever," Din began, wiping the small trail of blood from her mouth, "touch me like that again."

"You have no idea what happened while you were off running around," Hijikata hissed. "No idea at all."

"All I need to know is that Yamanami-kun is gone," Din answered back, tears coming back to her eyes. "And…and I'll never be able to see him again. I'll never be able to argue with him again! I can't talk to him, and I can't…I can't…"

"None of us can do anything with him ever again," Hijikata said as he looked away from her.

"I think you belong in the Shinsengumi though."

"Was that not good enough?" Din asked as she held her head in her hands. "Yamanami-kun, you gave me such good advice…I'm sorry I couldn't help you."

Hijikata finally stood up and returned to the spot where he had been sitting before. Din could smell that he had lit his pipe once more, and smoke began to rise up from where he was sitting.

"Do what you want I don't care," Hijikata said. "Go ahead leave again or stay I don't care right now."

Din stood up without saying another thing to him, and left the room. Hijikata ignored what had just happened, and kept smoking.

* * *

Tatsunosuke sighed and placed his forehead on his arm as he balanced his elbow on the table. His headache was coming back and he just couldn't concentrate on the numbers sitting in front of him. With a sigh, he placed his head on the desk.

_Din-chan_. He wondered as he closed his eyes. _When are you coming back? I…think I need someone to talk to_.

Tatsunosuke's door opened and Din walked in. He sat up and looked over towards her to see how red her eyes were.

"Din-chan," he whispered.

She walked over to him, and fell to her knees in front of him. Her body fell forward, and Tatsunosuke caught her and gently shook her.

"Din-chan! Din-chan what's wrong?!" he asked.

"Yamanami-kun," she whispered. "He's gone."

He gripped her kimono in his hands. "I'm sorry Din-chan."

"Tatsu-kun." She buried her face in his shoulder, and wrapped her arms around him as she began crying once more. "I didn't even get to say good bye to him! It's not fair!"

"I'm sorry." Tatsunosuke's eyes began to water.

She began to cry once more, and kept pushing her face deeper and deeper into his neck while he held her closer to him. He could feel her tears hitting his kimono over and over again until a large stain began to form on his kimono.

"T-Tatsu-kun," she whimpered. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" he asked with a slight sniffle. His eyes glistened from the water gathering underneath them, and he found himself breathing a bit quicker then normal.

"You lost someone too." She sniffled. "I'm sorry for that…and I'm sorry I was gone for so long."

"Din-chan."

Tatsunosuke finally began to cry, not knowing why exactly he was crying. He missed Yamanami, the man who had given him his job and everything he had, and yet he hated how he felt so lonely when she was gone. Everything began to come together and hit one another as he let go of his crying, and held onto Din as tightly as he could.

* * *

R&R please! 


	30. Dream

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Seimura, and Setsuna.

Thank you for the reviews and I'm sorry this is late. I had issues with my oral surgery but I'm alright now, stupid wisdom teeth but whatever. Anyways! Things are going great now so I'm here updating, I just hope the alert system sends this out, this thing has been messed up for a few days now.

This chapter is mainly a flashback chapter, so when you see **000000000** a flashback as begun and when you see it again, it's ended. There is some sexual things mentioned in this chapter, but nothing over a teen rating. ::giggle::

Enjoy!

* * *

**000000000000000**

The sun was coming down strongly in the dojo Kondo owned. A nine-year-old Souji was running around in the front when he was supposed to be cleaning the front walkway with the broom Kondo had given him. Hijikata smiled as he saw the sight, and walked down the large hill, back over to the dojo to see Kondo.

"Hijikata-san!" Souji called out with a wave of his right hand. "Hijikata-san! Din-nee! Hijikata-san is back from the market!"

Din stepped out from the large training dojo, and walked over to Souji who pointed her back up to the hill where Hijikata was walking down. She smiled when she saw him, and waved back to him.

_Din._ Hijikata thought as a small smile crossed his face.

Hijikata finished walking down the hill and back over to the dojo. He met Souji and Din, and took the bag off of his back, lowering it onto the floor.

"You're back a bit late," Din said as she crossed her arms. "What were you doing that took so long?"

"Nothing." Hijikata shrugged.

"You weren't flirting with that _woman _again were you?" Din asked, narrowing her eyes towards him.

"Why?"

Souji ignored the two older people and peaked into the bag Hijikata had brought down from the market. It was full of potatoes and all kinds of vegetables Souji couldn't recognize.

"Because," Din hissed. "If you want me to be your girlfriend, you've got to stop spreading yourself around."

Hijikata rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing that trust me."

"Fine." Din turned away from him.

Feeling a bit bad for what he had done, he walked over to Din from behind and wrapped his arms around her waist. She squeaked from the surprise and looked to her right as he laid his head on her right shoulder.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing." He grinned and closed his eyes. "I was just thinkin' about you."

"Oh." She blushed.

"Should you two be doing something like that in front of Souji-kun?" another male voice said from the side. The two turned around to see Yamanami standing there with a bag on his back as well.

"Yamanami-san." Din blinked. "Why is it that you come back so quickly and Toshi takes forever to get back here when you're going to the same place?"

"I don't know." Yamanami laughed nervously. "He took off before me."

Din blinked. "Then he should have gotten back before you."

"Oh…" Yamanami moved his glasses.

"Sannan," Hijikata twitched, "you're not helping my case."

"Sorry." Yamanami hung his head.

"Yamanami-san," Souji said as he gently tugged on him. "Can you spar with me? Kondo-san won't let me spar with him."

"Sure." Yamanami smiled. "Where do you want these vegetables Hinto-san?"

"Just inside near the kitchen." Din moved her left hand back and forth. "Thanks for getting them for me Yamanami-san, I really needed them."

"No problem."

Yamanami was led into the dojo by Souji who had a look of excitement on his face, leaving Din and Hijikata outside. Hijikata took this opportunity of being alone and moved his mouth towards Din's neck.

"Hey I gotta make dinner," she said as she struggled against him. "I can't mess around now."

Hijikata pulled away. "Dinner can wait for a few minutes, no one's going to complain. Why don't you come up with me to the apricot trees?"

"Huh." Din sighed. "Fine, just for a few moments while Yamanami-san and Souji-kun keep Kondo-kun busy."

* * *

The two climbed a small hill until they reached the apricot trees. Hijikata was the first to lie down on the ground, and to his surprise, Din hopped on top of him, and moved her legs around his hips. 

"What are you doing?" he asked blinking. "I thought you didn't want to mess around."

"I don't know," she confessed with a smile. "Just being up here with you alone gives me ideas."

He moved his legs up to make sure she stayed on his hips, and slipped his shoes off in the process. Din took her shoes off as well, and left them by Hijikata's side.

Hijikata grinned and moved his arms up to her, pulling her down so that he could kiss her. Their lips met, and parted quickly before Hijikata began to kiss her once more, only this time with a bit more passion.

Their kisses lasted for a few more minutes before he began to run his hands up and down her back, tugging at the sash that held her kimono together. She responded by tugging on his kimono, and opening it enough to feel his well-built chest.

The warm wind blew over to the two, sending the smell of apricots over them. Hijikata could smell how strong it was, and soon the smell was imprinted in his mind, and memory of this moment.

"Toshi," Din whimpered once their mouths parted once more.

He sat up with her and pulled her kimono around her legs up a bit so that he could see her bare legs. With that simulation, he began to work at the slash around her hips.

"Don't," she hissed, shoving her neck into Hijikata's face.

"Hold still," he mumbled onto her neck.

His hands left the sash and moved back to her chest where he felt on her breasts. She groaned and moved her head back, allowing Hijikata to kiss it over and over again. He moved further and further down until he began kissing the cleavage his hands were creating by groping her breasts, and pressing them together.

"Toshi…," Din groaned once more as she tried to push down his kimono as well.

The sash around Din's waist was becoming lose because of all the messing around they were doing, and allowing Hijikata to release it with a simple tug.

"Toshi!" Din hissed as she pushed him away from her neck.

He fell back but caught himself with his hands and held himself up with them as he looked back towards her. Her kimono had been opened, and she was now sitting there on his waist with her kimono exposing everything it normally would hide.

Din looked away blushing, her eyes looking for her fallen sash. "I told you not to! I didn't want you to see me yet!"

He didn't respond. All he could do was sit there and stare at the image before him. The woman he had been with for the past three months was sitting on top of him with everything exposed but what her panties kept hidden. Her skin was white and untouched while her upper body was a bit toned from the fieldwork she had been doing. Ignoring all of that, he was just looking at her breasts, surprised that they were a bit smaller then they had looked from the outside.

Din covered herself. "Quit looking!"

"Why?" he asked, regaining himself.

"Because." She blushed heavily.

"Because?"

"It's not fair for me to show everything and you to show nothing," she said, thinking of the only excuse that would come to her so quickly.

"You want to see something?" He grinned. "You should have just said something."

"Really?" She blinked. "I didn't know you were so easy!"

"Easy?" He twitched. "I don't think I'm easy."

Din giggled playfully and looked away. "So what are you going to show me?"

"What do you think?" Hijikata looked at her strangely.

She brought her hand to her face and giggled. "_That_? I can _feel_ that."

Hijikata's face became white while a blush replaced it. "You can?"

"Yeah." She laughed playfully. "How could I not feel something like _that_? At least I know you're a healthy young man."

"What do you expect?" Hijikata growled, now very embarrassed. "I'm eighteen years old!"

"I know." Din giggled once more with a heartwarming smile on her face while a strand of undone hair fell in front of her face. "It's just weird."

"Weird?" he repeated.

"I've never messed around with anyone before," she admitted, keeping her grin.

"Really?" He blinked, moving his hands back to her hips.

"I've never had time too!" She twitched. "I know you're a regular bed hopper so you're used to all of this."

Hijikata twitched once more. "Bed hopper?"

"Yeah."

"I'm a virgin," he said as another blush crossed his face.

"Could have fooled me." She moved her hands to Hijikata's face.

"I know _you_ are."

"I know." Din nodded and closed her eyes. "Can you tell?"

She moved down, burying her face in Hijikata's neck once more, only this time it wasn't as sexual as it had been before. He sighed, knowing that the mood was gone, and began to gently pet her.

"A bit," he finally answered. "But that will go away with practice."

"You have a dirty mind," Din whispered as she nibbled on his earlobe.

"I'm an eighteen year old man."

"Quit using that as an excuse."

"Hijikata-kun! Hinto-san!!" Yamanami called from the other side of the hill.

"Shit." Din rolled off of Hijikata and quickly got herself back together as Hijikata watched.

Yamanami came up the side of the hill a bit out of breath. "Hinto-san!" He managed to yell. "Kondo-kun wants me to warn you about dinner!"

"Oh!" Din stood up and slipped her shoes on. "Thank you Yamanami-san!"

Din ran down the front of the hill as Yamanami walked over to Hijikata and sat down beside him. Hijikata sighed loudly as he watched the clouds floating above him, and moved his hand up towards them, as if he wanted to catch them.

"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Yamanami said, lowering his head a bit.

"Nah." Hijikata closed his eyes. "It's not like we were doing anything anyway."

"Oh." Yamanami scratched the back of his head. "I just thought you would be because you know…you came all the way up here. Besides that, you're reputation caused me to think otherwise."

Hijikata's eyebrow twitched. "Why does everyone keep bothering me about that?"

"Well it's quite well known. You were seen running out of a samurai daughter's house before you began dating Hinto-san, and you always flirt with the women in the market."

"I guess." Hijikata let his hand fall back down to the ground. "I'll have to stop messing around and get rid of that reputation if I'm going to be with Din."

Yamanami smiled and looked out towards the village below.

"You've been here for three months now," Hijikata began, "and Souji-kun trusts you enough to train with you."

Yamanami blinked. "I know."

"I wonder why, he wouldn't train with me for months and I helped to raise the kid." Hijikata grabbed a nearby blade of grass and began chewing on it. "It's just a bit odd to me, that's all."

"Sorry. I don't know what he likes about me."

"Hey, how'd you like to hold my ties?"

Yamanami blinked at the random question and scratched the back of his head once more. "Ties?" he asked.

"Yeah like of what's right, or the ties of humanity. See it like I said before, I can do anything so long as I get results if I join the Roshigumi and go to the capital, who knows what evil things I could do to succeed. But every time I finally reach my goal," Hijikata stood, "or think "look I've made it this far!" I look behind me and…"

Hijikata shook his head. "I'll tell you having regrets is what I hate most. But with your opinions keeping in check, I feel like I won't get too carried away. Kondo-kun doesn't question me at all. That's why…I want you to hold my ties."

"Sure." Yamanami smiled. "I'll always be there to correct you."

"Smart ass." Hijikata grinned and looked back towards him. "If you could do something else for me…"

"What?" Yamanami leaned in.

"Watch over Din for me if something happens to me."

"You're planning on being with her for that long?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "She's never gonna be something I regret, but I still want you to keep me in check with her."

"Isn't that _her_ job?" Yamanami laughed and turned away from him.

"On a man to man level." He looked over towards Yamanami with a small grin.

"Anything." He grinned.

**000000000000000000000**

Hijikata sat up in his bed with sweat pouring down from his forehead. He looked around his room and saw his bloody kimono sitting in the corner, and he could hear the rain pounding away on his back door.

_Shit._ He thought as he held his head.

He had long forgotten about that memory, and that time he had always held so close to his heart. He didn't know why it had become forgotten; it just had gone away with everything that had been going on around him lately.

_Dammit._ Hijikata shook his head._ Why the hell is that bothering me? What's all this about Din all of a sudden? Sannan…did you two ever get along together? _

* * *

Tatsunosuke opened his eyes for a moment and heard rain falling outside of his window. He sat up only to realize that he was sitting in the middle of his workstation with Din by his side, still sleeping. 

_Din-chan._ Tatsunosuke smiled.

"Yamanami…," Din whispered in her sleep, turning Tatsunosuke's smile upside down.

_She must miss him_. He thought.

Din rolled over, moving closer towards Tatsunosuke and causing a blush to come across his face. The closer and closer she got, the more and more Tatsunosuke tried to move away but he soon stopped. Thinking that he wanted to be closer towards her, he held still and Din moved until she was against his chest.

"Din-chan…," Tatsunosuke whispered.

She moved once more, and he could see a ring fall out of her kimono and hang downwards. He blinked, and gently grabbed it to see what it was. He studied the metal chain necklace only to find that it had a small sliver ring hanging from it, and trapped by the chain.

_I wonder what this is._ He thought as he looked at the ring. _I've never seen her with something like this before. Why would she start wearing this now?_

Din moved once more, this time falling back a bit. He looked back to her to see that her kimono had fallen down a bit, and her cleavage was now showing.

_….How am I supposed to fix that?!_ Tatsunosuke pulled away, his blush growing deeper._ If I touch her, she'll wake up._

"Tatsu-kun," she whispered once more.

"Me?" he whispered without thinking.

_She's dreaming about me._ Tatsunosuke shook his head, and gently grabbed her. _I wonder what…she's dreaming about._

Tatsunosuke moved and laid down on the floor, moving Din carefully and placing her kimono back on her shoulders. Din moved beside Tatsunosuke, but soon rolled over to his side and rested her head against his shoulder.

He smiled. _This is something I could get used to._

Din suddenly groaned a bit and moved her face against his shoulder roughly, and then kept moving her head as if she couldn't get comfortable. Tatsunosuke looked around for something to place underneath her head but couldn't find anything. He could feel her moving around and then looked back at her to see her moving her head further into his chest until she found a soft place.

_Din-chan!_ Tatsunosuke twitched.

A smile crossed her face for a moment before her face returned to the way it was before. Seeing how comfortable she was, he rested back against the floor and sighed happily. He was just so comfortable even though she was on somewhere a bit sensitive. Just hearing her breathing, and sighing in her sleep made a smile cross his face.

_I can tell you?_ Tatsunosuke asked himself.

"Din-chan," he whispered, "there's something I've been wanting to tell you. I…I've got an interest in you. A deep interest."

He shook his head. _That's no good! How can she take something like that!? She has no idea what kind of interest I have_!

"I," he began once more, "I love you."

He stopped and closed his mouth tightly. He didn't know why he had said something like that, he just couldn't think of anything else that would express his feelings towards her. Those were the only words that crossed his mind, and felt so right crossing his lips. They seemed perfect.

_I can't love her._ He thought, looking up towards the ceiling. _I just can't…_

* * *

Suzu was sitting on Hikagami's lap, watching his kitten clean themselves. He had grown bored, and Saitou was sitting in front of him with his hands in his lap, and his eyes closed, sitting in silence. 

"So how's Din-chan?" Suzu asked, rolling around on Hikagami's lap. "I haven't heard anything too much about her."

"She's coming and going," Saitou answered. "I don't know what or who she's involved with but I think it's something serious."

"Huh." Suzu sighed. "I'll have to find out. How's my Tetsu-chan?"

"Fine." Saitou nodded. "He's growing."

"Good." Suzu stretched his arms outwards, and moved his stomach up as well by arching his back. "I think I'll pay Tetsu-chan a little visit before this week is over." He looked towards Saitou. "Should I give Din-chan a visit too?"

"Perhaps." Saitou opened his eyes back up. "What do you need her for?"

"Yoshida-sama wanted her," Suzu answered, moving his head backwards. "I told her I would see her in six months and take her away but too many things have come up. She looks almost exactly like my Setsuna-chan. The one I miss so much."

"Setsuna-chan…" Saitou blinked as that name triggered something in his mind. He couldn't remember what it was but he remembered that name meant something important.

"You knew her?"

Saitou closed his eyes once more. "No. I have heard of her though."

"Setsuna-chan." Suzu groaned and moved around on Hikagami. "It's been so long since you were murdered…I can't wait to finally find and kill the person who took you away from me and Yoshida-sama. I'll meet you again."

_Setsuna-chan…_ Saitou thought. _Why does your name sound so familiar?_

Suzu rubbed his face next to his master's skull and groaned. "I'll find those bastards who killed the one you loved and let you watch me kill them. You'll be so proud of me Yoshida-sama! I promise!"

* * *

R&R please! 


	31. Finally

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

Thanks for the reviews!! I'm so happy! I'm almost caught up here, which is strange since I've been updating every week or so. Anyways,

Enjoy!

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Yamanami's death, and through everything, everyone seemed to be trying to move passed it. People were talking once more, and going about their business without saying anything about it. Even the two commanders seemed to be back to normal, but Hijikata kept away from Din as much as he could.

Kondo and Hijikata were now sitting in Hijikata's room as always, waiting for their lunch to be served to them. They were talking about other things that had been happening around the dojo, such as Heisuke talking about heading off with Ito's group because he wanted to protect him, and be with a group that used the same sword style that he did. In the middle of the conversation, Din slid the door open and came in with their food.

"Hey Din-chan," Kondo said happily.

"Sorry about the food," Din said as she bent down and served the lunch. "I'm going to go shopping in ten minutes to get more items to make a better dinner."

Kondo blinked. "It's raining Din-chan."

She shrugged. "It'll only take a few moments."

Din then stood up after giving the men their plain rice and bowed down. She walked out of the room, and gently closed the door behind herself, leaving the two alone.

"Are you two talking?" Kondo asked as Hijikata grabbed his food.

"I don't know." Hijikata closed his eyes.

"Remember my order." Kondo sighed. "But more then anything…remember what Sannan asked you to do."

Hijikata blinked. "You heard that?"

"_Don't…let Din-chan become something you regret…please, watch after…her."_

Remembering his words, Hijikata moved his chopsticks away from his mouth and set his food down on the floor. He just couldn't see why Yamanami would say something like that, he had come to the conclusion that Yamanami hated Din and wanted nothing to do with her, but he didn't know about how the two had begun to get along before he died.

Kondo shook his head. "Please go with her to the market. I fear that she might run away this time…and not come back."

"Not come back," Hijikata repeated, as his eyes grew wide.

He hopped up and grabbed a thicker kimono, which he wrapped tightly around himself. He looked back at Kondo who smiled, and then left the room, heading towards the front door.

* * *

The Ichimura brothers were sitting together in Tatsunosuke's workroom, mainly because he couldn't go outside and wash clothes so he was bored and had no where else to go. Tatsunosuke was working, as his left hand moved down and pressed against his stomach.

"What's wrong?" Tetsunosuke asked, looking at his brother's arm.

"Nothing," Tatsunosuke answered without taking his eyes off of his paper.

"Then why are you holding your stomach?"

Tatsunosuke sat back. "I've just this really bad feeling about something. I don't know why but it's flipped my stomach over."

"Hey." Tetsunosuke blinked and looked away from his brother. "Do you love Din-chan?"

"Love?" Tatsunosuke blinked.

"Yeah…love."

Tatsunosuke smiled and shook his head. "Why don't you talk about something else Tetsu-kun?"

"Because I want to know!" Tetsunosuke stood up.

"_Your brother is someone I could marry." _

"Tetsu-kun calm down." Tatsunosuke moved his hand up and down. "Why don't you head over to Shimabara and talk to Saya-chan?"

"She's coming over tomorrow." Tetsunosuke puffed up his cheeks and sat down. "She's been lonely ever since Akesato-san left."

"It's a shame." Tatsunosuke sighed as he went back to work.

Tetsunosuke sighed, thinking of another question. "Have you kissed Din-chan?"

Tatsunosuke blushed as he remembered being pushed into her. He remembered the way her lips felt on his, and how she looked up at him after it was done. Tetsunosuke coughed, bringing Tatsunosuke to shake his head back and forth.

"Enough questions Tetsu-kun!" Tatsunosuke looked down at his work. "I have to finish this tonight so could you please leave?"

"Fine." Tetsunosuke stood up and walked out of the room, allowing Tatsunosuke to sigh and rest his chin on his interlocked fingers.

_Din-chan_. He thought. _You've been on my mind a lot…does that mean that I love you? Even after what I said…I still don't know. Those words just don't seem right for me to use when I think of you. I don't know. He shook his head once more. I'll worry about this later.

* * *

_

Hijikata walked out of the Shinsengumi to see Din walking away with an umbrella over her head just as she had been months ago. He took a deep breath in, and ran over to her, and grabbed her shoulder.

"What?" she asked, looking up at him.

"I want to talk to you," he confessed.

"About?" She turned around and handed him the umbrella.

"Everything."

"Fine." She turned her back to him. That's when he noticed that she had a scar on the back of her neck from where she had gotten cut and he had to place stitches in her to keep the cut together.

"Who took your stitches out?" he asked, realizing that he hadn't done it.

"A friend," she answered simply. "Come on, I have to get this done before it gets too late."

* * *

Through the shopping trip it had been rather quiet. They didn't say much to one another even though Hijikata told her that he was the one that wanted to talk. After the first twenty minutes of silence, he figured that he had just gone with Din to make sure she didn't run away.

Once the trip was done, she was walking home with him and a small package of food in her hands when she finally decided to tell him something.

"Hijikata?"

"What?" he asked.

"I have something to tell you."

"What?"

"I've broken my promise to you," she said as Hijikata slowed down. "I didn't tell you when I was falling in love with someone."

He blinked in disbelief as he walking came close to stopping. "You…fell in love with someone?"

She nodded. "I fell in love with him but that's not it…we're engaged."

Hijikata stopped walking as she continued until she was standing in the rain by herself. He could do or saying anything, all he could do was stand there and look at her back as the rain trickled down her body.

Din turned back around to face him. "I'm getting married."

The rain became heavier as Hijikata's eyes widened, and puffs of white smoke came from his mouth. The more and more he looked at the woman in front of him, he wondered if she was really crying, or if it was just the rain running down her face.

* * *

"Engaged?" Kondo asked in surprise as he sat forward. "To who?"

"I don't know," Hijikata answered.

They were in Hijikata's room with Hijikata sitting near the back door, watching the rain fall while Kondo sat further back in the room with a bowl of rice in front of him.

Kondo sat back. "So what are you going to do?"

"Nothing. There's nothing I _can_ do."

"You never let that stop you before." Kondo sighed. "Come on Toshi-kun, just tell her how you feel about her."

"There's nothing to feel."

Kondo rolled his eyes. "Toshi-kun, I know you're still in love with her just as much as she is with you. Just tell her and perhaps it will change things around. You never used to let limits keep you away from the women you wanted."

Hijikata twitched and turned to him. "Are you saying I should do it anyway?"

"Yes." He nodded. "We don't know when she got engaged or how long she's been engaged so maybe she can break it off if she gets back with you."

"I've never heard you talk like that before."

"It's only because I think the two of you both love each other," Kondo said after taking in a deep breath. "You're just too stubborn to tell her, and that's something I know first hand Toshi-kun."

"I'll wait a few days." Hijikata sighed. "A few days before I say anything to her on those lines."

* * *

The next day the sun was out and shining down. Tetsunosuke was walking down the street with Saya by his side with a slight blush on her face. They walked into the Shinsengumi, and over to Souji to see Tatsunosuke catching pigs for the longhaired man.

"Thank you Tatsu-kun!" Souji said happily. "You caught them so easily!"

"It's no problem." Tatsunosuke laughed. "I've been getting a lot of practice thanks to Tetsu-kun."

"Are you saying," Tetsunosuke appeared next to his brother, "that I'm a pig?"

"What makes you say that?" Tatsunosuke laughed, trying to pretend that he hadn't said anything.

"Good grief." Souji giggled. "I see you brought your cute friend with you today Tetsu-kun."

"How are you feeling?" Tetsunosuke asked as he walked over to Souji with Saya behind him.

"Good." Souji smiled.

"Saya-can, this is Okita-san, the guy I'm always talking about," Tetsunosuke said, moving his hand towards the older man as Saya bowed.

"Hehe, Tetsu-kun has told me a lot about you too. You can't talk but you're really cute. And you need more practice on the shamisen," Souji said as he chuckled and Saya twitched.

Saya's eyes met Souji's and something strange happened. The way she was looking back at him caused him to shiver. Finding it strange, Souji stood up and coughed a bit, moving Saizou up with him.

"Well make yourself at home Saya-chan." Souji turned and walked into the room behind him and closed the door.

As soon as the door closed, Souji's coughing took over his body. He fell to his knees and began coughing over and over again, unable to clear whatever was bothering him out of his body.

_What's wrong?_ Souji asked himself. _What's going on?_

The other entrance into the room suddenly opened, and Din ran in. She ran over to Souji and began to pat him on the back as she moved her face down towards his.

"Souji-kun!" she said. "Calm down Souji-kun!"

Souji's coughing fit lasted for a few more minutes, and slowly came to a stop. Din sighed once he stopped, and rubbed his back for a few moments to make sure that everything was okay with him.

"You want some water?" Din asked gently.

"No." Souji shook his head. "I think I'm all right."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Souji sat back up with a smile on his face.

Din sighed. "Okay then. I've got some chores to finish, please call me if you need anything else."

"I will." Souji giggled, trying to make her feel better.

Din turned away and walked out of the room. _I'd better hurry up and finish that blanket before Souji-kun's cold gets any worse._

* * *

"We have things to do so we'll be leaving now," Tetsunosuke said as he looked towards Saya who just nodded.

"I don't think you should go into the quarters though." Tatsunosuke laughed.

"Haha, yeah! There are a lot of creeps in there!"

"It'll be dark when she leaves, make sure you walk her home," Tatsunosuke called out as the couple began to walk away.

"I know!" Tetsunosuke yelled back.

"I thought he was just a little brat," Susumu said as he walked up to the dark red head. "But it looks like he's been keeping himself busy if you follow me."

"Is your mind always in the gutter?" Tatsunosuke twitched.

"She's a girl ain't she?"

"She's a _friend_. A friend who's a girl! Can't you tell? And don't act like Tetsu-kun is doing somethin' wrong."

_You either._ Susumu thought. _Ya can just tell by lookin' at her face. Neither one of them brothers knows a thing about love.

* * *

_

Din was in the kitchen making dinner when Saitou walked into the room with a small white note in his hands. She turned around to him, and her smile changed to a glare as she crossed her arms.

"What?" she asked with a harsh tone.

"A message from a person who misses you," Saitou said as he handed her the note.

"Really?" Din took the note and opened it to see Suzu's handwriting.

_Din-chan,_

_Don't go anywhere soon; I'm planning something big for you._

_--Suzu_

"What do you have to do with this?" Din asked, looking back up at Saitou. "How do you know that boy?"

"I know him, that is all." Saitou nodded.

Din narrowed her eyes. "Are you going to take down the Shinsengumi?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm simply trying to move along and help my cause."

Din looked away. "Fine, don't tell anyone about this."

"Don't worry."

* * *

"_When you have tears of blood in your eyes, and you're missing a leg or two. When you come crawling to me, your face covered in mud and filth, then I can say, "Ah, I'm glad I let you live". Until that day comes, I'll be watching you…Tetsu-kun."_

Tetsunosuke sat up in his closet with sweat dripping down his face. The incident that had happened with Suzu just hours before he had retired to bed replayed over and over in his mind until he could see them on the back of his eyelids every time he blinked.

_Suzu-kun._ Tetsunosuke shook his head. _Why? What's wrong with you? Why aren't you the Suzu-kun I used to know? Suzu-kun…_

Tetsunosuke turned back around and shoved his face into his pillow, trying to get rid of the images behind his eyelids. They just wouldn't leave him, and the more pressure he placed on his pillow, the more and more the images would become real until Tetsunosuke felt as if he were living them once more.

_Suzu-kun!_ He thought, as he grabbed his blankets. _Suzu-kun!!_

* * *

Back in Din's room, she was just placing the sewing materials she was using to make Souji's blanket when she heard a light knocking on her back door. She put everything away quickly, and opened her back door to see Ryoma standing there with a smile on his face.

She pulled him into her room, and closed the door. Before he could say anything else to her, she ran over to the candle in her room and blew it out.

"Calm down Cowgirl," Ryoma whispered as he watched. "I just came here to check up on you."

"Check on me?" Din whispered, coming back over to him. "Why?"

"I heard a friend of yours died." Ryoma touched her face. "I wanted to know if you wanted a bit more time here instead of coming with me in a month."

She looked away. "I don't know. I really don't know."

"Why?" Ryoma blinked. "Somethin' goin' on here or somethin'?"

"I want to go with you," Din whispered with confident. "I want to help the alliance like I promised."

"You'll do that." Ryoma placed his hands on her shoulders and smiled. "Don't worry 'bout nothing! We'll get everything done and come back to live in our house!"

She smiled. "You have to be quiet."

"I will." He grinned. "But I'm sorry for the loss of your friend."

"I am too."

Ryoma walked over to the wall and sat down, surprising Din. She shook her head and sat down in front of him with her head lowered.

"Yamanami-kun committed Seppuku while I was with you," Din muttered.

"I'm sorry."

"There's nothing I can do now." She sighed heavily. "I'm just going to go and see him tomorrow and leave flowers."

"Ya want me to come?"

"No." She shook her head. "I don't want you to get in trouble and if I'm seen up there with you, people may begin to think things."

"True." He sighed. "Leave him somethin' for me though."

She looked back up to him, and smiled. "Thank you, Ryoma."

"Well he looked after my girl while I was gone, I owe him somethin'."

Din moved over to Ryoma, and leaned against him, lacing his arm with hers. She placed her face in his neck, and he leaned his head over against hers with a smile. His hand moved down towards hers, and grabbed it, lacing their fingers together.

"I missed you," Din whispered.

"And I missed you."

Din tugged on Ryoma, causing him to look back down at her, blinking. She moved her mouth up to his, and pressed her lips against his. He pushed his face closer towards hers, making their lips meet completely. Her hands twitched as she felt that he hadn't shaved in a while.

After a few moments, she pulled away only to feel him place his hands on her face, and pull her back in for a deeper, rougher kiss.

"Ryoma," Din whimpered as she pushed him away.

"What?" he asked, pulling her in closer.

They kissed once more, only this time Ryoma pushed Din down and began kissing her neck. She arched her back into his chest, and he took it as a sign that she wanted him to go further down.

Hijikata wasn't coming into her mind at all. All she could think about was Ryoma and how his body was reacting to hers. Unlike the first time they had started to become intimate, she was only thinking of Ryoma and everything he was, not of Hijikata and what she _had_ with him.

"Ryoma," Din whimpered.

"What?" he asked once more. "Somethin' wrong? Do you wanna do this?"

"What?" she asked, grabbing his jacket.

He moved up towards her ear. "Be with me."

She paused for a moment but then an answer came to her for the first time in a while. She smiled and grabbed his face and moved him until he was looking her in the eye.

"Yes," she answered. "I want to be with you."

* * *

R&R please! 


	32. Action

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

Wow, sorry this chapter is so short...there was a scene I had to cut out...::looks around:: You'll see what I mean. **oooo**-shows flashback as usual.

Enjoy!

* * *

"I want to be with you," Din answered. "Ryoma…"

"Really?" Ryoma blinked.

"Yes." Din smiled. "I want to be with you."

Ryoma began to kiss her once more, and slipped his tongue into her mouth. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him, and opened her legs, allowing his waist to fall between them.

* * *

When the light came into Din's room the next morning, she woke to find the spot where Ryoma had been empty. His scent was still there, lingering as well as the memory of what the two had done the night before but Din shook her head back and forth when she thought of that.

"Din-chan?" Souji asked as he opened the back door. "Are you up? You're a bit late."

"Oh." Din wrapped her blanket around her naked body. "I'll be there in a few moments alright Souji-kun?"

"Alright," he answered with a smile.

Souji then stepped out of the room and closed the sliding door behind himself. With a deep sigh Din grabbed her kimono and began to great dressed only to feel a small pain coming from her lower abdomen and legs.

_Damn._ She thought as she closed her eyes_. I haven't felt this pain in ten years. I should have stretched._

* * *

Tatsunosuke's day had been one of the most exciting days he had been through in a long time. While he was in the town getting supplies as always he bumped in Ryoma and the two had run away from a large group of Mimawarigumi warriors. The two of them were now down at the river, drying their clothes from falling into the river.

"We're lucky we landed in the river!" Ryoma said as he placed his hands up next to the fire.

"I think my heart skipped a beat when we fell," Tatsunosuke added as his face drooped. "Once we get warm, I'm leaving. If I stay with you they might get the wrong idea and try to kill me again."

"Come on man!" Ryoma said, turning to the red head. "You need a little excitement once in a while! It's how you know you're alive!"

"I feel alive enough as it is thank you," Tatsunosuke answered with a sigh.

"Still, I made the right choice by giving you that sword, huh? You can't protect yourself unarmed!"

"I'm better off without it." Tatsunosuke looked towards the fire once more. "They wouldn't have killed an unarmed man."

"Well that was a cold thing to say to the guy who saved your life man!" Ryoma grinned playfully.

Tatsunosuke turned back around to see Ryoma looking around the fire for something. He leaned over towards him to see if he had found it to see him pull up a small sliver ring from the ground.

"Whew! I was worried that this little gem had floated away from me!" Ryoma said with a happy as he slipped it back onto his ring finger. "I can't go around losing my engagement ring now can I?"

"You've got a fiancée?" Tatsunosuke asked in shock.

"Sure do!" Ryoma beamed. "We're gonna get hitched soon!" With a sigh he looked down and picked up his gun. "I'd better clean this baby out, I can't let the water stay in it too long or it'll kill the gunpowder."

Tatsunosuke's eyes landed on the gun and saw the weapon he had seen the night that Din had gotten into a fight with that strange man he had never seen again. Could she have killed him with that weapon, with a gun? Could a small weapon like that really help a small girl like Din kill a man like the one who had been after her? A man with a sword?

"Sakamoto-san? Where can I get a gun like that?" Tatsunosuke asked. "Please tell me where I can get a gun like that. Dejima in Nagasaki? A store for foreigners? Or did you get it on the Black Market?"

"I didn't _buy_ this," Ryoma answered as he picked up shell casings off of the floor. "A guy named Takasugi gave it to me, it's special. They don't sell these things in Japan; your regular guy off of the street can't get his hands on 'em."

"But you just said that you had to get more gunpowder for it so you must know where to get another _gun_," Tatsunosuke said, looking Ryoma in the face.

Without another word Ryoma stood up and walked over to his clothing sitting on a line he had set up.

"I wonder if it's dry yet?" Ryoma asked out loud.

"To tell you the truth I've been interested in that gun ever since I first saw it. I kept telling myself over and over again that it's not right for me but…," Tatsunosuke sighed, "But I just can't get it out of my head." He fell forward, bowing. "Please!! I'll never use it to do wrong! Please I'm begging you: tell me where to get one!"

Ryoma stopped and looked back towards Tatsunosuke and saw the same thing he had seen years ago in Din. She had done the same thing when he brought out his gun around her for the first time but back then he had given her the gun she still had today but things had been so different back then. Because of him, Din had killed more people then she could before. He had been the one to place blood on her hands for the first time and he didn't want to do that to Tatsunosuke.

"How good are you…with a sword?" Ryoma asked, causing Tatsunosuke to look up.

"With a sword?" Tatsunosuke repeated. "Not that good actually."

Ryoma turned away from the red head and started to get dressed with the clothes that he had set out to dry. Tatsunosuke looked up to his back to see long cuts that looked as if they had been just made.

"I've been recognized as a master in the Hokushin Itto style, I was a head instructor I have no intention of losing against swordsmen like _them_. It takes a lot of effort to get good enough to kill people with a sword," Ryoma said, still dressing. "You gotta train hard you hafta get faster then your opponent, and you have to have more _guts_ them him too. Not everyone can do that."

Tatsunosuke blinked. "Um getting back to the pistol—"

"I'm gettin' to it," Ryoma interrupted, moving his hand back and forth. "Now compare what I was just talking about to a pistol. A gun can fire six shots in a row and the bullet can hit you in the blink of an eye and from a distance. It's like getting hit by invisible arrows."

Tatsunosuke looked back to the gun that was sitting behind him, drying and was amazed at the power Ryoma was talking about. This was why he _wanted_ a gun; he wanted to be able to protect people with any means possible.

"If you shoot someone in a vital point, they won't even get a chance to scream," Ryoma continued, "When you wanna kill someone, you just have to move your finger, like this."

Ryoma moved his hand outwards and pretended as if there was a gun in his hands. With his index finger he moved it forward and pulled the imaginary trigger on it to prove his point to Tatsunosuke.

It was so easy. Taking a person's life with a sword required so much training and yet with a gun all he had to do was pull the trigger to send someone to the ground dead. This is what he thought he _needed_ in order to protect Tetsunosuke. This wasn't an option he _needed_ this.

"This kind of lifestyle…just ain't for you," Ryoma finished.

Tatsunosuke clenched his fist together. "You have no idea…no idea how I feel!"

Ryoma looked back towards him and sighed. "You wanna a gun that bad do you?"

"Yes! That's what I've been _telling_ you," Tatsunosuke answered, looking back up towards the darker man.

"Well in that case, why don't you take the gun that's sitting behind you?"

Tatsunosuke turned around to the gun behind him and grabbed it. Before he could stop himself he brought it up to Ryoma only to see that he was raised his gun up as well, surprising Tatsunosuke.

"Always be prepared right?" Ryoma asked with a confident grin. "That's what they say right? I've been in a place like this before Tatsu-kun and I'll tell ya one more time, this kind of thing ain't for you."

"Shut up!" Tatsunosuke hissed as he backed away from the taller, more experienced man.

"Someday that gun," Ryoma stepped closer towards the red head, "will be pointed at the person you care about the most."

A vision of Tetsunosuke flashed before his eyes as he thought about what Ryoma was saying. He never wanted anything bad to happen to Tetsunosuke, and he was doing everything _for_ Tetsunosuke. He couldn't let everything turn around and he wouldn't.

With a quick swipe Ryoma took the gun back away from Tatsunosuke. "I'll be taking that," he said with grace.

"D-Dammit!" Tatsunosuke fell to his knees and hung his head as he thought about what he had just done.

"All this pontification' is makin' my head hurt!" Ryoma said as he held his forehead. "No hard feelings Dragon boy, I'm just tryin' to be like the Peace Maker. And I want his sons to be happy."

Tatsunosuke stood. "I'm going home."

Ryoma walked over to the fire and began putting it out. "I'm callin' it a day too."

Tatsunosuke turned away from the darker man and began walking up the side of the grassy hill when he remembered something he wanted to tell Ryoma.

"Sakamoto-san," Tatsunosuke called, "about your little speech, you got one thing wrong."

"What's that Dragon boy?" Ryoma asked with a grin.

"I would _never_ point a gun at Tetsunosuke."

Ryoma lowered his head. "G'bye Dragon boy."

* * *

By the time night had fallen, Ryoma had found himself on the other side of town, leaning against an old house. He didn't have anywhere else to go, and had finally come to the conclusion that he was going to spend the night outside in the night air.

_Wish I could see Din._ Ryoma thought as he looked up towards the night sky.

Wanting something else think about, Ryoma let his mind wander about what had happened that day. Tatsunosuke wanting a gun reminded of him of the time where Din had pointed the gun he had _bought_ her back at him. It was so long ago but he remembered it as if it were yesterday.

**000000000000000000000**

They had been fighting together for three years now. Ryoma always fought for Din and always managed to take a life so that she wouldn't have to but this cold December night would change things.

"Hurry up!" Din yelled as she looked behind her to see Ryoma.

"Hey! I'm injured!" he yelled back. "Give me a break!"

Hearing that, Din suddenly took a sharp turn and pulled Ryoma into a small, dark alleyway. They both stood against the right wall as a large group of men ran by without even noticing them.

"Where'd you get hit?" Din whispered, looking up and down Ryoma's body.

"My leg," Ryoma answered as he bit his lower lip from the pain.

Din moved down towards Ryoma's right leg to see blood dripping down from the calf muscle. She knew that she had to apply some kind of pressure to his leg in order to stop the bleeding. Looking down, she noticed the cloth she always kept wrapped around her mouth so that no one would be able to place out a warrant for her.

"I've got something just hold on," she whispered.

With a tug the cloth undid itself and fell into Din's open hand. She moved the cloth around Ryoma's leg and pulled tightly and then tied it, trying to stop the bleeding but at the same time trying not to make a tourniquet.

"Shit," he hissed as pain shot up his leg.

"Sorry," she whispered back.

As soon as she was done, Din stood back up and let out a small sigh. She was about to open her mouth once more when one of the men from the group that was chasing them arrived at the opening of the alleyway and spotted them.

"There they are!" the man called out.

They began running once more but as they came to the other side of the alleyway Ryoma was punched in the face as he came out, and fell down to the floor. Din turned back around and ran over to Ryoma's fallen body and placed his head in her lap as she looked back up at the man who had been chasing them.

The side of Ryoma's face had been pushed in from what Din could see, telling her that the bones on that side of his face had broken. The muscles around his eyes began to swell from the impact and broken bones, and Din could see a trail of blood coming from the side of his mouth.

"Bastard," she hissed.

"We've been looking for you two!" the man said with a smile. "Did you really think that fighting the Shogunate would get you far?"

"Din-san," Ryoma whispered. "Hurry up and get outta here, I'll be fine on my own."

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself!" Din yelled as she closed her eyes. "I'm not going to lose anyone else!"

"Din-san…"

Din quickly moved her hand down into the small kimono she was wearing and pulled out her gun. The man who had been following them stopped as he saw the gun, not knowing what it was and looked at it as she pulled the hammer back.

"Din-san!" Ryoma yelled as he opened his eyes. "Don't Din-san!"

Ryoma's warning fell on deaf ears. Din pulled the trigger back, and a loud bang noise echoed through the cold, snowy night. The man who had been chasing them fell backwards into the white snow, staining it with his dark red blood that fell from his stomach.

"Get up!" Din yelled as she tugged on Ryoma. "Come on, we've got to get out of here!"

Without waiting another second, Ryoma stood and began running away even though he found himself limping more then he had been before. He couldn't remember how far they had ran when he thought about it now, but the next thing he remembered was being under a large tree with Din while they caught their breath.

"Din-san," Ryoma managed to say. "Are you…alright?"

"What the hell do you think!?" she screamed back at him while she raised her gun to him.

Ryoma looked back up towards her and found that he could only really see out of his left eye. He moved his head so that his left eye could see her better, and in reaction to what she was doing, he raised his gun up as well.

"I've just killed someone dammit!" she yelled, tears falling from her eyes. "I'm not okay!! Why couldn't you be watching where the hell you were going?! If I die or get caught I'll never find Setsuna-chan! Do you understand that!?"

"Din-san," Ryoma stumbled a bit from the pain in his face, "calm down, everything will be okay. We're fine we're not gonna get caught."

"But that was too close dammit!" Din looked away as the gun in her hand began to shake. "Do you understand!?"

"I'm…sorry,"

"What?" She looked back over towards him.

Ryoma opened his mouth to answer when the pain in the side of his head finally got the better of him. He dropped his gun and fell down to the floor as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, unconscious.

**000000000000000000000**

It was strange, after that little incident Din had started to trust Ryoma and from then on Ryoma called her Din-chan. Even though she had taken the life of a man who knew her identity and risked her losing Setsuna, she never talked to Ryoma about it again. She had changed after that, she feared death highly and would do anything she could to prevent it, even allowing a man to get away who had hurt her badly.

A lot has happened. Ryoma thought as his breath became white against the cold air around him. And once I make this world better, a lot more will happen Din. I'll make sure of that.

* * *

R&R please! 


	33. Picture

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I own only Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

Wow, I've gotten far. Not much to say this week but that next week will be the chapter that changes everything. A huge secret is revealed that no one has seen coming and I can't wait to see how you, my reviewers, are going to react to it::giggle:: I can't wait. Meanwhile, something rather large happens in this chapter, so I hope you like it!

Enjoy!

* * *

"In May?" Din asked as she blinked.

A few nights later, Ryoma had returned to Din's room once more in the middle of the night. He had come saying that he had news for her, news that couldn't go without hearing it for another day.

"Yup!" Ryoma grinned. "Katsura-san wants to leave in May instead of April because he doesn't want the weather getting to him."

Din rolled her eyes. "That sounds like him."

"So we can finally get everything together before the time comes so we can finally get a small break," Ryoma closed his eyes for a long moment.

When he opened his eyes once more he found that Din had walked further back into the room. He blinked and started to move forward when she leaned against the wall, not facing him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Being here any longer then I have to be," she answered. "Leaving will be harder then it already is. Maybe I should go with you now."

"Really?" Ryoma asked in a bit of shock.

"I don't know."

The smile Ryoma always wore finally came back to his face and he stepped over towards her, placing his hand on her right shoulder. She turned around and looked at him, but stopped halfway and placed her hand on his.

"Stay until the start of May alright?" he whispered. "After that, I'll come here and get you so that we can go off and clean Japan. We'll come back for Ichimura-san's sons and bring them with us before anything happens."

"Alright," she whispered back. "That's what I'll do."

* * *

When Hijikata woke up the next morning, he found Din sitting next to the window of his room with the window slightly open. He sat up and heard the rain pounding away on the roof above him and a slight breeze coming into the room.

"I'll be staying for a bit longer," Din said gently.

"Until?"

"May."

"That long?"

"Yes," she answered. "I'm sorry about that; I'm supposed to be leaving in April."

He looked away from her. "Stay as long as you want I don't care."

"_I'll wait a few days. A few days before I say anything to her on those lines."_

"Din…,"

"What?" she answered, still not bothering to face him.

He took a deep breath inwards. "I want to marry you."

"_What_?" she asked, finally looking over towards him.

He looked up towards her, allowing their eyes to meet for the first time in the few short minutes they had been together. She looked at him in amazement before she finally looked away from him, and back out towards the rain.

"I can't do that," she said. "You know that I'm already engaged Hijikata."

Without saying anything else he stood up from his futon, showing that he was sleeping in his underwear only. He walked over to her and moved against her, placing his hands against the wall behind her and beside either side of her head.

"I don't care."

"I do," she said, looking back at him. "Hijikata, you don't understand, I can't be with you anymore."

"Forget the man you're engaged to," Hijikata blurted out, ignoring the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I want to be with you Din…I…"

He couldn't do it. He couldn't allow the words telling her that he loved her passed his lips. No matter how many times he thought about it in his head, he just couldn't push himself enough. But when the thought of her leaving and never coming back came into his head, he found the small push he needed.

"I love you," he admitted.

"I can't be with you."

"W…What?"

Din looked away from Hijikata once more, making the feeling of being rejected oh so much worse. He thought that was the one thing Din had wanted to hear after everything they had been through in the past few months but now that he was saying it, she wasn't interested. He was too late.

"I've already been with the man I'm engaged to." Din closed her eyes.

"Been with?"

"I've slept with him, and that means that I'm going to stay with him Hijikata."

Hijikata moved his hands away from her head as he moved back away from her with a look of shock on his face once more. His arms fell to his sides as his back bent a bit, expressing the feelings inside of him. Everything was gone now, he had been left behind.

"I'm sorry," she said, looking at him, showing the tears falling down her face once more.

Hijikata stepped backwards and finally turned himself around to find that he was standing in front of his sword. He picked up his fist and slammed it downwards onto the wooden structure creating a loud bang.

"Get out," he hissed. "_Now_."

Din stepped away from the wall and walked out of the room, leaving Hijikata alone once more, just as he had been the night before, only now things seemed so much different then before.

* * *

Hours later, Din was in the kitchen preparing dinner when Saitou appeared next to her. She jumped when he suddenly came up beside her but noticed the glare in his eyes, telling her that he knew something.

"What?" she hissed.

"So you're staying until May?" he asked.

Her eyes widened. "Yes. How does someone like you come across _that_ bit of information?"

Saitou lowered his head. "It's easy when you allow visitors into your room at night when not everyone is asleep."

"Dammit!" she hissed. "So what the hell are you planning to do?"

She had been caught and by someone who knew of some of her deeds outside of the dojo. This man was a threat to everything her and Ryoma had been setting up for years, and if she wasn't careful everything would fall apart before her, and it would be her fault.

"Nothing." He shook his head slightly. "I was about to ask you the same question."

"You know I'm leaving so don't worry about anything!" she growled.

"Are you going to take the Ichimura brothers with you?"

"Yes."

"Don't."

"What?" She blinked. "Why not?"

"You know Suzu-san is keeping his eye on Tetsu-kun, and you taking him away may end up with the loss of Tatsu-kun," Saitou answered.

Din fell backwards, only catching herself on a counter. The last few words of that sentence had just ripped through her and made her legs become weak. She had been asked by Ryuunosuke, a man she fell for to take care of his sons and yet here she was, putting them as risk. What was she doing?

"Why would you do something like that?" she asked.

"It's not me." Saitou shook his head once more. "This is nothing but a message from Suzu-san. Excuse me, I don't want to make you burn dinner."

Saitou stepped out of the kitchen leaving Din to cover her mouth with her hand. She felt like she was going to throw up everything from what Saitou had just said to her. Things seemed to be slamming together at once, and she knew that something had to give.

* * *

The next few days had been rough on everyone. The move to the West Hogan Temple had been pretty much done but the moving of the final things was what took the group forever to finish. Now that things had been moved to the temple, things began to settle into place, and before anyone had known, the first of May had snuck up on them, and things were about to turn.

Since the time Hijikata had finally confessed, not much had been said between the two. Things had remained quiet, and no one had really talked about what had happened, not even Kondo. Tetsunosuke was rather quiet because of the whole incident with Suzu, while Tatsunosuke spent most of his time working as usual. The trio kept to themselves but noticed the unusual quietness around the place, but dared not to say anything about it.

The trio was standing in front of the temple, messing around with one another and trying to cheer Heisuke up when a large, strange man walked up to them with a boar in his hands. Revealing that he was a doctor, Shinpachi led him back to Kondo and Susumu who were in the middle of a meeting. After a quick run through of the dojo, they retuned to Kondo's room to talk.

The doctor, Ryojun Matsumoto, instructed on going through every person in the Shinsengumi to make sure that they weren't suffering from some kind of illness or wound, starting with the comedy trio. This was, with the assistance of Susumu of course, and after the smaller Ichimura brother's inspection.

"Stop that!! That tickles!!" Tetsunosuke laughed as Ryojun touched his body to make sure he was in good health. "Hahaha!!"

Outside waiting in line was the trio, followed by a worried Tatsunosuke who was listening up against the door to make sure nothing was going wrong.

"What's wrong?" Sanosuke asked. "Is baby brother doing something wrong?"

"No," Tatsunosuke answered quickly. "I'm just making sure that he _doesn't_ do anything wrong."

"Are you nervous?" Shinpachi asked, popping up beside the dark red head. "We have to strip down remember?"

Tatsunosuke's stomach turned. "Yeah I know. But it's for something important so I don't mind."

"Then why do you look nervous?" Sanosuke teased.

The dark red head twitched. "Never mind."

As they spoke, Din walked by carrying a basket of clothing. She started to walk by them without saying anything but Sanosuke grabbed her arm, after waiting for her to say something.

"Hey Din-chan! What's up with not sayin' hi?" Sanosuke asked with a playful tone.

"Oh." She blinked. "I'm sorry, I was just daydreaming."

"Aren't you gonna get in line?" Sanosuke released her arm and pointed his hand backwards towards the door. "We all have to get inspected."

"No." She turned her head away. "I'm not going to."

"That doesn't seem fair," Shinpachi said, getting into the conversation. "Is something wrong Din-chan? You've been acting rather quiet lately."

"No." She shook her head. "It's nothing, I'm just not going to go in to see the doctor, no big deal. But Tatsu-kun?"

"Yes?" he answered, turning around to face her.

"Would you mind coming to town with me later today, after you're done with your inspection?" she asked.

"No I'll go with you," he answered without blushing for the fist time.

"Thank you." She smiled.

Din then walked away from the group while Tatsunosuke turned back around to listen in on Tetsunosuke's examination. Sanosuke blinked as he watched the whole thing take place and then did a double take.

"She just asked you out," Sanosuke said, pointing to where Din had walked in. "Don't you care?"

"Yeah," Tatsunosuke answered, looking over towards Sanosuke. "I do but I have to make sure Tetsu-kun makes it through this. Besides," he blushed, "I'm getting used to going out to places with her now."

"Oh." Shinpachi grinned. "Getting comfortable are we?"

Tatsunosuke's blush deepened. "Maybe I am."

"Next!" Susumu called from inside.

"That's you," Shinpachi said, hitting Sanosuke in the side with his elbow.

"Oh yeah huh?" Sanosuke let go of a nervous laugh. "Well I guess I'll be getting in there," he looked around, "yeah…anytime now."

"Are you scared?" Heisuke asked, now coming into the conversation.

"No!" Sanosuke hit his chest. "How could someone like the great Sanosuke be scared of something like a doctor? I'm a fighter! I'm not…yeah I am."

Shinpachi laughed. "Get your ass in there! Come on!!"

As the door opened, Tetsunosuke stepped out of the room. Tatsunosuke grabbed him before he could run off only to see that he was perfectly fine.

"Are you alright?" Tatsunosuke asked.

"Fine," the younger one replied.

"Get in there!" Shinpachi kicked Sanosuke into the room, causing Tetsunosuke to giggle.

"It really wasn't that bad!" Tetsunosuke said through his laugh. "Don't worry about anythin' Harada-kun!"

"Thanks Tetsu-kun!" Sanosuke said as the doors slid shut.

"I'm going to go to the kitchen now," Tatsunosuke said with a slight sigh. "I want to go and talk to Din-chan about something."

Tatsunosuke walked over to the kitchen after seeing his little brother off to find Din standing in front of the fire. As he stepped in, he saw her staring into the fire, clenching her fists together.

"Din-chan?" he asked. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she answered without facing him. "Do you mind going out with me right now?"

"Well I haven't been checked over but," he scratched the back of his head, "I guess we could go now."

She turned to him. "Alright, let's go then."

Tatsunosuke and Din walked out of the Shinsengumi without saying anything to anyone and as they came closer towards the town and towards the market, he began talking to her one on one for the first time in months.

"Why don't you like doctors?" he asked. "Oh, never mind that's really none of my business, I'm sorry I asked."

"It's alright," she laughed. "When I was younger I always went to the doctor and I always got bad news from it. That's how I found out that I could never have children."

"I'm sorry," he said looking down.

"Don't worry," she said with a small giggle. "I talked to Isami-kun and he said that I didn't have to see the doctor so I'm happy. How are you?"

"Tired from work but other then that I'm fine," Tatsunosuke answered, looking back towards her. "I haven't really seen you around."

"Work's been keeping me really busy," she answered simply.

They walked through the market, picking up small things that Tatsunosuke volunteered to carry through their trip. Once they reached the last shop to pick up something small once more, Din looked out towards the ocean sitting beside the last shop.

"Din-chan?" Tatsunosuke asked as the shopkeeper collected what Din ordered. "Is something wrong?"

She smiled. "Do you have the food Tatsu-kun?"

He paused as he paid and the item was given to him. "Now I do. Why?"

Din reached backwards and managed to grab Tatsunosuke's wrist. She held tightly to it as he blushed from her touch, and looked up towards her.

"Din-chan," he began, "is there something wro—"

She pulled him forward as she began to run, dragging him along with her. Instead of fighting her, he began to run along with her while he clung onto the collection of items he had in his hands.

"What are we doing!?" Tatsunosuke yelled.

"Just come on!" she yelled back to him. "There's something I want to do!"

Tatsunosuke picked up his running and found himself running closely behind her. As he ran behind her, a smile crossed his face. Soon the smile became wider and as he ran he began laughing. He was having a wonderful time and all he was doing was running with the woman he had come to love. This was the most fun he had had in a long while and he wasn't doing anything unusual, he was just with the woman he loved.

Din suddenly stopped running, causing Tatsunosuke to stop as well. He moved up next to her to find that he was standing on a large hill overlooking the ocean as the sun began to set. The way the sun hit the water created a gentle, calming mood that allowed Tatsunosuke to relax for once.

"It's beautiful," Tatsunosuke said through catching his breath.

"Isn't it?" Din asked with a small laugh. "I want to go across that ocean!" She pointed her right hand outwards with her index finger pointing out. "I want to cross it in a boat and see the world one day and…Tatsu-kun, I want you to come with me."

"What?" he asked, turning to her as he blushed.

She focused on the ocean. "I want to take you across the ocean with me. Will you, one day?"

He looked back out towards the ocean as well, looking at the water moving up and down in small waves. He looked at how the sun bounced off of the top of the water, and how large boats floated over the dazzling water without fear or hesitation. Would he want to be in one of those boats? Would he ever walk on a boat while it crossed the ocean? But more importantly to him, would he be with Din?

"I think I will," he answered.

"Good." She smiled. "I think I'll be waiting for that day."

"I think I will be too."

The two stood there watching what looked like the sun sinking into the ocean. They didn't say anything more as they watched everything happen around them, and the gentle spring wind blew over them, bringing the smell of flowers with it. Right after the sun had disappeared, Din turned to Tatsunosuke.

"Let's go back, I don't want everyone to worry too much," she said with a sigh.

"I guess you're right," he answered with his own small sigh.

As they began to walk down the small hill they had run up, Tatsunosuke spotted a man with a camera that he had heard about. He paused for a moment as he tired to remember why that man was important when it came back to him.

"_I want to take a picture with you before I leave."_

"Din," he said, grabbing her kimono sleeve. "Didn't you want to take a picture?"

"Oh." She blinked as she looked at the man. "Yes, do you want to do it now?"

Tatsunosuke nodded. "Yes. Let's do it now before the man leaves town or something."

Tatsunosuke and Din walked over to the man who was using the camera that Tatsunosuke had only been behind in pictures when he was younger. Din paid the man and gave him the Shinsengumi's address so that he would be able to drop off the picture once it was done developing and the two moved in front of the camera.

"You didn't have to pay for it Din-chan," Tatsunosuke said as he placed the items they had bought on the floor.

"It's alright." She moved beside Tatsunosuke and grabbed his left arm. "But because I paid for it, I get to do whatever I want in it."

He blushed and gulped. "Alright."

"Move in a bit more," the camera man said as he moved his hand to the right.

The two did as told until the camera man held up his hand, telling them to stay. As he began to count down to when he was going to take the picture, Din clung onto Tatsunosuke's arm and he managed a smile as did she. The flash went off and dust flew around the camera man as he looked away from the small box.

"Done," he said looking at the couple.

"I can't wait for it," Din said with a large smile.

"Come on," Tatsunosuke said as he tugged on Din's arm. "We'd better start to get home before they worry."

"Right."

"Thanks!" the camera man said as the two walked away. "I'll be there to give it to you once it's done developing!"

"Thanks!" Din yelled, moving her hand in the air.

This was more then Tatsunosuke could ask for. He was out with the woman he cared so much about, and he had finally gotten his picture taken with her. Things were going wonderfully and he couldn't wait to see what else would be waiting for him and her. Everything was perfect.

* * *

R&R please! 


	34. Turn

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

::Coughs:: This is the chapter that will change everything! Yay! I finally get it done! Anyways, I won't be able to update next week because I'll be busy for the hoildays, sorry. Be safe everyone and I hope you get everything on your list!

Enjoy!

* * *

Din had managed to serve dinner a bit later then usual because of her little trip she had gone on with Tatsunosuke but everything had gone rather smoothly. While that was going on in the Shinsengumi, Ryoma had awoken to a loud banging noise coming from the top of the roof where he had been staying.

_An assassin 'eh?_ He thought as he jumped out of his futon. _I wonder if they're here for Katsu-sensei or me._

Ryoma grabbed his handgun and jumped out of the window, grabbing the roof as he did so. With one arm he pulled himself onto the roof and looked around to see a figure in the dark.

"How's about a shooting game right here on the roof?" he asked out loud. "I'm pretty good at playing games like that."

The figure that had been coming after him in the night stepped into the light of the moon, showing the figure of a tall, blond woman with bright blue eyes. Ryoma paused as he took in her looks, and allowed his mouth to drop open.

"Blonde girl," he whispered in awe.

Ryoma rolled around on the roof with Akesato until she managed to punch him in the face. Getting that close to him, he grabbed her chin and brought her face next to his.

"It is you!" he cheered. "Blue eyes! How pretty!"

They stood there looking at one another until a tall man with long black hair appeared on the roof beside them with a smaller man on his back. Ryoma stopped rolling around with Akesato to look at the two men standing on the roof, recognizing the black haired man as Aotani and the smaller man as Katsu.

"Ryoma?" Katsu asked. "What are you doing up here with that blond woman?"

Ryoma placed his hand over Akesato's mouth, preventing her from saying anything else against what he was about to say.

"She's a new recruit!" Ryoma said happily.

Recruit? Akesato thought. So he's not going to kill me?

Ryoma released Akesato and she pulled away, allowing herself to take in all of Ryoma's image. Instead of doing what she thought he was going to do, Ryoma grinned and moved his hand out towards her.

"Let's see the world together!" he said in a playful tone.

"…What?" Akesato asked.

"Why not?" Ryoma asked over the sound of a dog howling.

Katsu sighed. "Come to bed Ryoma, you're going to see Din-san tomorrow remember? You need some sleep."

"Right!" Ryoma grinned. "We're finally gonna head out together?"

Din-san? Akesato asked herself as she thought over that name. She remembered that she had heard it over and over a few years back but the face wouldn't come back to her.

"Come inside!" Ryoma wrapped his arm around Akesato. "We've got a lot to talk about!"

* * *

The next morning back at Shinsengumi HQ, Kondo was getting ready to move out with Susumu and Ito to Hiroshima in order to look for remaining Choushuu leaders and rebellions. He was planning for a long trip, perhaps over a year or so and today was the day he was finally going to get out in order to stretch his legs.

"I can't wait!" Kondo said.

"Do you have everything you need?" Hijikata asked as he looked at the bags Kondo had packed.

"I think so." Kondo looked around. "Can I trust you to take care of the Shinsengumi?" Kondo laughed.

"I think you can," Hijikata answered with a small sigh.

"Let's move out into the courtyard, I want to say goodbye to everyone before I leave," Kondo said as picked up a bag. "Gather everyone in the courtyard alright?"

"Yes." Hijikata nodded.

Tatsunosuke's day was going just as wonderfully as the night before had. He found himself running through his work with ease when he found a small section of papers that hadn't been organized yet. Knowing that it was his job to look through them and check to make sure that they weren't receipts for anything he began to search through them when he came across a paper with a familiar name.

_Yoshida Setsuna_.

_This is Din-chan's sister_. Tatsunosuke thought as he put it down on the floor to separate it from the rest of the papers. I'll give it to Din-chan once I'm done sorting through the rest of these.

* * *

Hijikata walked into the kitchen, a bit hesitant to talk to Din after what happened the last time they talked to one another but he figured it was for a good reason so he walked in to find her reading a book. He twitched for a moment but saw that she was waiting for her water to boil.

"Something wrong?" she asked, looking over the top of her book.

"Kondo-kun is leaving and would like to say goodbye to you in the courtyard," Hijikata explained.

"I'll be there in a moment," Din answered, closing her book. "Let me finish things here first."

"Fine. Get Tatsunosuke-kun while you're coming will you?" he asked as he turned away from her.

"I will. Thank you for telling me."

Moments later Din finished what she was doing in the kitchen and was walking towards the courtyard when she remembered that she had to get Tatsunosuke. Taking a detour she walked into his work room to see him reading over a piece of paper.

"Isami-kun wants to meet us in the courtyard to say goodbye," she said with a smile. "You coming?"

"In a moment," he answered. "Oh yeah, I found this paper about your sister."

"Really?"

Tatsunosuke grabbed the paper he had left on the ground and handed it to her. She eagerly read over it but as Tatsunosuke looked up at her to see what her reaction would be, he saw her face go pale and her smile instantly disappear. Without saying anything, Din moved away from Tatsunosuke and ran down the hallway.

"Din-chan?" Tatsunosuke asked. "Din-chan!"

Tatsunosuke stood up and ran after her to see what was the matter. Running behind her just as he had been the day before only this time he got a painful, sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Din-chan!" he yelled.

She led him out into the courtyard where everyone in the Shinsengumi stood in uniform, laughing and carrying on as Kondo got ready to leave. When Din stopped walking for a moment and stood in front of everyone, Tatsunosuke managed to catch up with her, and stood by her side.

"Din-chan! What's the matter?" he asked, trying to catch his breath.

He looked at her as she didn't respond but placed her hand inside of her kimono. She grabbed something underneath her clothing and took it out a bit to reveal that she was holding a sai.

Tatsunosuke's eyes widened. "Din-chan…what are you doing?"

Din ignored Tatsunosuke and sprinted over towards Hijikata, taking the sai fully out of her kimono. She ran passed everyone who was standing in front of Hijikata and he turned to see her running towards him. Before he could react to seeing the sai in her hands, he was slammed up against the wall, and could feel a small trail of blood start to drip down his right cheek.

"Din-chan!!" Kondo said in surprise.

"It was you," Din said, placing her face next to Hijikata's. "You're the one who killed Setsuna."

"W-What are you talking about?" Hijikata asked as his eyes grew wide.

"Stop lying to me!" she screamed, stabbing the sai by the right side of his head deeper into the wooden wall behind him. "I saw the damned paper you kept about her! You're the bastard that killed her! All this time! All this damn time you've been hiding it from me when you knew I was looking for her!! You fucking knew you bastard."

As Din spoke Hijikata noticed a small trail of blood had begun to move down her mouth. He looked down towards her abdomen as her breathing became labored to see a sword had cut through her side.

He looked back towards her face. "Din."

Din's face changed from being angry to a smile. She backed away from Hijikata to show the vice commander that it was Souji who had stick her with his sword, just as he had done to Yamanami months earlier.

"Din-nee," Souji whispered as he realized what he had done.

Souji withdrew his sword from Din's body, causing blood to spill out of her. He let his sword fall to his side as his eyes grew wide and he backed away from her as well. Din stumbled back as pain ran through her body but through that she managed to laugh.

"Din-chan," Kondo lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell—"

"You're all a bunch of lying son of a bitches," Din said through her laugh as she lowered her head. "Damn Shogunate dogs! How can you sleep knowing that you've done this to a family?!" She fell to her knees as the pain got the better of her. "How could you kill someone like that? You morons killed Setsuna and then Yamanami!!"

"Din-chan," Tatsunosuke whispered.

Tatsunosuke started to move forward in order to touch Din when Sanosuke, Shinpachi, and Heisuke moved in front of him, and held him back. He moved against them as they blocked him, hitting his shoulders over and over again against their strong chests.

"Din-chan!" Tatsunosuke yelled, moving his hand out towards him.

Din moved her hand to her side as the pain grew. She bent forward; trying to rid herself of the pain but it was growing and growing no matter where she moved. The blood draining out of her grew darker and darker as the pain escalated, and seeing this, Kondo turned his head away.

"Souji-kun…," he said as began to cry, "Do as you did with Sannan."

"Din-chan!" Tatsunosuke screamed.

Souji walked over to Din as she withered in pain and began to raise his sword up when Tetsunosuke ran out in front of her. He stood there, in front of Souji and stopping the sword Souji was holding to stop moving upwards.

"You can't kill Din-chan," Tetsunosuke said, moving his arms out in front of her. "We have a doctor now, please let him look at her wounds!"

"Ichimura," Hijikata hissed. "Move _now_."

"Tetsu," Tatsunosuke whispered.

Even though this was happening right in front of Din, she was blind to it. All she could think about was her little sister and how she had been with Hijikata and Kondo so many times. Hijikata had been lying to her as he watched her look for her smaller sister and went to the grave of her sister even though _he_ had been the one to kill her. Even though he could have told her at anytime, he hid it from her and waited for her to find out on her own. For the past few months that had almost become a year they had been laughing together, and going through so much with their emotions with one another but he was lying to her about something so important to her, and that was something she would never be able to forgive him for.

"_I love you."_

"Shit," she hissed as she grasped at the ground underneath her.

"Move!" Hijikata yelled towards Tetsunosuke.

"But—"

"I'm sorry Tetsu-kun," Souji whispered.

Souji moved forward with speed that he had gained from his long training, and pushed Tetsunosuke out of the way. Tetsunosuke hit the floor and looked back up as the dust cleared from around him to see Souji raising his sword once more.

"Okita-san!! Don't!!" Tetsunosuke screamed out.

As Souji brought his sword up fully and started to move it downwards and while he did so, a single shot ran out, breaking the silence that had come to the small courtyard. When everyone looked towards Souji their eyes met with seeing his sword on the floor instead of his hands, and a small, smoking dent in the middle of his sword.

"Din!" a voice called out.

Everyone's eyes looked up towards the roof to see Ryoma standing there with a smoking gun in his hands, and a deathly serious look on his face. He hopped down from the roof and began walking towards Din when Souji picked up his sword once more to fight. He began moving towards Ryoma to fight him when he felt a tug on his uniform. Looking back, Din was gripping onto his uniform.

"Please don't Souji-kun," she said through the blood falling out of her mouth. "Please _don't_ hurt him."

"Din-nee," Souji whispered as he looked down towards her.

Ryoma walked towards Din and stood in front of Souji, waiting for him to either move or fight. Without saying another thing else, Souji moved away from Ryoma, lowering his head.

"Din," Ryoma said as he ran over to her once Souji had moved.

He ran over to Din and held her as he fell back into his arms. She looked up at him with a bloody smile. He moved his hand down her body until he found where she had been injured, and placed his hand over the wound in order to stop the bleeding.

"Ryoma," she whispered.

"Don't worry about anything," he whispered back to her. "I'll get you fixed up."

Din laughed, and then closed her eyes, allowing her head to fall to the side. Ryoma shook her a few times, trying to get her to wake back up but he wasn't getting a response.

"Din!" he yelled. "Din! Dammit, don't die on me. I'll take you to Ryojun Matsumoto-san, don't worry."

"He's here," Tetsunosuke said, alerting Ryoma to look up at the small red head.

"Where?"

Tetsunosuke looked back towards Susumu. Susumu shook his head and stepped over towards Ryoma, and took Din from his arms. He moved her until he could hold her without worry of dropping her, and then looked back up towards Ryoma.

"I'll take care of her, don't worry," he said. "Matsumoto-sensei and I will take care of her injuries."

With the help of Tetsunosuke, Susumu carried Din away into what had been designated the medical room, leaving Ryoma out in the courtyard with everyone else.

"You know that I'm taking her once Matsumoto-san heals her," Ryoma said, moving his gun around on his finger.

"Where?" Hijikata asked, stepping up.

"Where she belongs," Ryoma answered with a cold tone. "She's coming to help me lead the Choushuu alliance."

"_What_?" Hijikata said as his mouth dropped open.

"You can't be telling the truth!" Kondo yelled. "Why would Din-chan deceive us like that?"

"Lemme tell you something," Ryoma said, now looking towards Kondo. "She was doing this before she came back here. If I hadn't been forced to take off then she never would have come back here so she hasn't been doin' anything wrong. Her being here is my fault."

"I can't let her go then," Hijikata said, drawing his sword from his hip. "I can't allow her or you to leave this land. You're both going to jail to be executed."

"Toshi-kun!" Kondo said in shock.

"All of you head back into the sleeping quarters!" Hijikata ordered. "NOW!"

Tatsunosuke ran back into the dojo once Hijikata had ordered it, but instead of running towards the sleeping room, he headed to the examination room to check up on Din and her condition.

Meanwhile everyone else ran into the sleeping quarters and stood together, not saying a word to one another about what had just happened. They knew what their duties were and they knew that they were not to disobey them no matter how important the person was to them.

"So what are going to do?" Ryoma asked, watching Hijikata draw his sword.

"I'm not letting you go," Hijikata hissed with a firm look on his face.

"It's gonna come down to a fight is it?" Ryoma sighed. "If that's what you want Captain but remember if I win, Din and I are leaving."

"And if you lose?"

Ryoma grinned. "You get to kill us both."

"Toshi-kun!!" Kondo yelled as he stepped forward. "You cannot be serious! Please don't tell me that you're going to do this! Toshi-kun!"

"I'm doing it Kondo-kun," Hijikata answered coldly. "Remember, this won't be on your record, you are not here today."

"No Toshi-kun!" Kondo demanded. "You cannot do this!"

"Please Kondo-kun," Hijikata asked without turning back around to Kondo. "If you truly do trust me, then allow me to do this."

"Trust you?" Kondo asked, blinking. "This has nothing to do with me trusting you!"

"Don't worry about it!" Ryoma said as Kondo looked at him. "I won't hurt the guy too much, trust me, I wouldn't want Din to cry over him."

"Shut up!" Hijikata barked.

* * *

Tatsunosuke ran into the examination room to see Din lying down on the ground with a futon underneath her, and blood spilling onto the floor. Susumu had placed something Tatsunosuke couldn't make out against her side to keep the blood from spilling out but it hardly made a difference.

Matsumoto had gathered the items he would need in order to clean out Din's wound and stitch it shut in order to stop the bleeding. With the items he had found, Matsumoto walked over to Susumu's side and handed the items to Susumu.

"You want me to do it?" Susumu asked in awe.

"Yes," the older man nodded. "Hurry now, she's losing a lot of blood."

Susumu nodded. "Yes sir."

Susumu opened the small box and began taking things out. Tatsunosuke stood there, watching as Susumu moved the object he had placed against Din's wound and began to stitch her wound shut. He moved in only to have Matsumoto step in front of him.

"Don't worry Ichimura-san, Susumu-kun will be able to take care of the young lady," Matsumoto said gently.

"But I need to see her," Tatsunosuke insisted.

Matsumoto shook his head. "I'm sorry; she's out from the medication we've given her. She won't be able to see or hear you. Please Ichimura-san; go into the main sleeping quarter with everyone else."

Tatsunosuke hung his head. He wanted to stay here and help Din get through what was happening but he knew that he had to follow the orders he had been given by the vice commander. He had already broken the rules by coming to the examination room and he didn't want to push it any further then that and risk losing his job.

"I'm sorry," Tatsunosuke said as he took a step backwards. "I'll be going now."

Once Tatsunosuke was far enough from the door, Matsumoto slid the door over until it met with the wall. The dark red head stood there with his head down in front of a closed door, gripping his fingers into his hands.

Standing there with the door shut in his face once more made Tatsunosuke feel so helpless. Here he was again standing there instead of helping the person he wanted to help more then anything else in the world. No matter how much he hoped, no matter how much he waited, he knew that he wouldn't be able to help _again_. He was nothing but a bystander to the person he wanted to be with the most.

_What kind of person am I?_ Tatsunosuke asked himself. _What kind of person am I just to stand here like this? I have no use to the people I love the most._

* * *

R&R please! 


	35. Moon

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

Thanks for all of the sweet reviews!! Wow, I'm really late here. I've been really busy, I'm sorry. Moving away...this is the last chapter for a while, I've finally caught up with the chapters I have on my laptop and now have to work on them more. Sorry about this, this fic is very close to being done which is scary.

**0000**-shows flashback and when you see it again, the flashback is over.

Enjoy!

* * *

Hijikata ran towards Ryoma with his sword drawn, and forced his blade downwards onto Ryoma. As his sword went down he felt his sword slam against another metal object.

"Ya know," Ryoma began with strain, "she always talked about you."

"What?" Hijikata asked.

Ryoma pushed Hijikata's sword off of him by using his handgun. As they separated, Ryoma drew his own sword and pointed it back towards the black haired man. Hijikata stood there for a moment, taking in what he said when he realized that fighting was more important.

"_I said_ that she always used to talk about you," Ryoma answered. "Even after she found out that you had 'died'."

"Shut up," Hijikata hissed. "That's none of your business."

Hijikata attacked Ryoma once more but Ryoma dodged it with ease, seeing that Hijikata was obviously distracted by something and Ryoma was going to use it to his full advantage. Ryoma moved his sword up to where Hijikata had been, slamming his sword into Hijikata's.

"Is that any better?" Ryoma asked.

"Shut up!" Hijikata yelled once more.

"You don't have to worry about her anymore," Ryoma said, pushing Hijikata away once more. "I'm taking her away from here and as long as I'm up and breathin' she ain't coming back."

Instead of attacking Ryoma once more, Hijikata remained where he was, and his sword moved down to his side. Ryoma lowered his sword as well as he saw Hijikata lower his sword, and brought out his gun once more.

"Who are you to decide something like that for her?" Hijikata asked, looking back up towards Ryoma. "Who do you think you are to her?"

Ryoma brought up his left hand and showed Hijikata the sliver ring sitting on his ring finger. Moving his ring finger a bit, a large grin crossed his face.

"I'm her fiancé," Ryoma said.

"_I've slept with him, and that means that I'm going to stay with him Hijikata." _

This man who was standing in front of Hijikata was the man who Din had decided to be with over him. This was the man who Din had fallen in love with over Hijikata. This man, Ryoma Sakamoto, a man who was wanted by the Shinsengumi was the man Din wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Ryoma was the man Hijikata had been replaced with, and as Hijikata thought about it he thought about what Din might have wanted.

"Din," Hijikata whispered.

"So what are you gonna do?" Ryoma asked.

"Please stop this Toshi-kun," Kondo whispered, taking a step towards Hijikata.

Hijikata moved his sword back onto his hip without saying anything else. Ryoma watched as Hijikata took his hand off of his sword, and suddenly looked back up at Ryoma.

"Hurry up and take Din out of here once her wounds are taken care of," Hijikata said as he gripped his right fist. "I don't ever want to see the two of you again."

Ryoma grinned. "Don't worry about it! Like I said you'll never see the two of use as long as I'm alive!"

"You'd better live," Hijikata hissed. "Now get out of my sight!"

Hijikata walked away from the courtyard, and back into his room where he slammed the sliding door shut. Kondo walked over to Ryoma with his arms crossed over his chest, and stood in front of him with a tired look on his face.

"I'll take you to Din-chan," Kondo said with a sigh. "But please remember to take good care of her, she's a long time friend of mine and I don't want to see anything bad happen to her."

"Don't worry," Ryoma said back in a gentle tone as well. "I'll take good care of her."

* * *

"There," Susumu said with a sigh of relief. "Din-san's wounds are closed."

"Good job Susumu-kun!" Matsumoto said, patting Susumu on the back. "We've stopped the bleeding so Din-chan should be able to recover."

Susumu reached up and took the covering away from his mouth. "That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried that her wound is going to get infected. Is there anything we can give her?"

"I'll look for something," Matsumoto said as he stood up. "Susumu-kun, I'm proud of the job you've done in an emergency situation."

Susumu bowed his head. "Thank you Matsumoto-sensei."

Kondo led Ryoma to a room next to the examination room where Tatsunosuke was waiting. Kondo walked in front of Ryoma and took in a deep breath of air.

"I'll go and see if Din-chan is ready to leave," Kondo said. "Please wait here for me to return."

Ryoma nodded. "I will."

Kondo walked over to the nearby door and walked through it without another word. As soon as Kondo left the room, Tatsunosuke pushed himself off of the wall and walked over to Ryoma who was reloading his gun.

"What are you going to do?" Tatsunosuke asked.

"Din and I are leaving," Ryoma said as he placed bullets into his gun's chamber.

"Leaving?" Tatsunosuke repeated, his eyes growing wide. "Sakamoto-san you can't take Din-chan away from here!"

Ryoma blinked. "Why not?"

"You just can't!" Tatsunosuke yelled.

Tatsunosuke moved his head down and closed his eyes tightly, trying not to say what he really wanted to say. He was gripping his fists together the tighter he tried to closed his eyes. A part of him didn't want to tell Ryoma that he didn't want them to leave because he was in love with Din but the more he thought about it, he knew that if he told Ryoma how he felt, Ryoma _might_ let Din stay.

"Why not?" Ryoma asked.

"Because I love her! Please Sakamoto-san, let Din-chan stay here with me! I don't want to lose her," Tatsunosuke admitted.

Ryoma sighed heavily and looked away from the young man as he finished reloading his gun. Tatsunosuke looked up towards Ryoma, hoping that the older man would allow Din to stay in the Shinsengumi with him when Ryoma shook his head in a physical answer.

"I'm sorry Tatsu-kun, Din's gotta come with me," Ryoma answered.

"What?" Tatsunosuke eye's widened once more.

"This is something we've been plannin' for a long time." Ryoma placed his gun back on his hip. "We have to do this Tatsu-kun, I'm sorry."

"_I'll be back when the snow falls though, and then…"_

"Din-chan," Tatsunosuke whimpered.

Nothing was coming to Tatsunosuke. He didn't know what to do anymore, so all he did was fall to his knees and let the tears he had been holding back to fall from his eyes. Here Tatsunosuke was once more as useless as ever at a time where the one thing he wanted the most was leaving him.

Ryoma, on the other hand, was focused more on getting out of the Shinsengumi as soon as he could. Din was injured both physical and mental manner, and he knew that this was something that was going to take a lot of his effort to heal. He didn't know if things were going to ever be the same, but he would do everything in his power to help things return to the way they once were.

Suddenly the door to the examination room opened, and Kondo stepped out. He walked over to Ryoma and lowered his head.

"Din-chan's ready for you to take," Kondo added.

"Thank you," Ryoma said as he stepped forward.

"Sakamoto-san!" Tatsunosuke yelled as he looked back up. "You can't take her! Please Sakamoto-san!"

"I'm sorry Dragon boy," Ryoma said once more.

Matsumoto walked up and over to Ryoma with a small bag in his right hand. Ryoma stepped over to him first, held out his hand, and Matsumoto handed over the bag to Ryoma.

"In there are some medicines that will keep her wound from becoming infected," Matsumoto said, moving his right index finger towards the bag. "Give each of the medicines in there to her everyday before she goes to bed. Make sure to change her bandages everyday."

"Yes Matsumoto-san," Ryoma answered with a nod.

Matsumoto stepped out of the way, and Ryoma walked forward to see Din lying on the floor. Ryoma moved into the room carefully, trying not to slip on the blood that had stained the floor. When he finally stood by Din's side, he saw that her kimono was stained with blood and piece of wood were scattered around her beside.

"What's that from?" Ryoma asked.

Susumu stood. "Underneath her kimono she had small pieces of wood that protected her sides and back. It looked like self made armor that actually took some of the blow from Okita-san's sword."

"She must have been worried about something," Ryoma whispered. "She normally doesn't wear her armor around the house."

"She should be able to recover in about a month or two," Matsumoto said, stepping up towards Ryoma. "Just do as I've told you and she'll be fine."

With a sigh Ryoma moved his arm underneath Din's head and his other hand underneath her legs. He gently picked up her body, and moved her up against his own body, being careful of her injury. Once Din was fully in his arms, Ryoma turned away from the group of men and began walking towards the exit.

As Ryoma walked by Tatsunosuke, the dark red head looked up towards Ryoma but instead of saying anything, he looked back down towards the floor. He couldn't say anything; he couldn't take care of Din like Ryoma could and now more then ever Tatsunosuke realized it. If he really loved Din, Tatsunosuke knew that he had to let her go with Ryoma.

"Din-chan," Tatsunosuke whispered to himself.

Ryoma carried Din out of the Shinsengumi and walked through the streets, taking back alleys to make sure that he wouldn't get caught. Ryoma knew one place he would be able to take Din without getting in trouble, and where she would be able to heal without being disturbed.

* * *

Hijikata slammed his left fist into the wall after he had placed his sword away on its stand. He slammed his hand again into the wall but it wasn't riding him of the horrible feeling that was eating away at him.

His door suddenly opened, and Kondo took a careful step in. Hijikata turned to him, and then looked away.

"I don't want to talk about it," Hijikata growled.

"There's nothing to talk about," Kondo answered.

"Then why are you here?"

Kondo moved his head downwards. "Din-chan is gone."

"Don't even mention her damn name!" Hijikata slammed his fist into his wall once more. "I don't want to ever hear anything about that traitorous wench!"

"Traitorous?" Kondo repeated. "Toshi-kun, I highly doubt that she would—"

"How could she not?" Hijikata hissed. "We don't know what she's done before or what she could do now that she's found out what we've done."

Kondo sighed. "I think I should leave you alone for a while before I try to talk to you about this."

"You said there was nothing to talk about."

Kondo took a step out of the room. "I'll be back later Toshi-kun."

As soon as Kondo closed the door, Hijikata fell to his knees and slammed his fist onto the floor over and over again. How could he have let something that important slip underneath him like that? Was it because he had been getting too comfortable with the fact that Din was going to leave already? Or was it because he really didn't have the heart to tell her what he had done to her sister?

Hijikata moved his hand to his forehead as he thought about the night that he, Kondo, Souji, and Yamanami had taken Setsuna's life. It seemed so long ago but now that Hijikata finally saw the results of what he had done, it seemed as if it happened yesterday.

**000000000000000000000**

"This is the place?" Kondo asked.

Souji, Hijikata, Yamanami, and Kondo were standing outside of a small house that sat just on the bank of the river. Rain was falling down onto them as they stood there, their swords at their sides and hoods around their heads and mouths that kept their identities a secret.

"Yes," Hijikata answered over the rain. "Yoshida Toshimaro's wife is within these walls. We are to go in there and demand information on where her husband is. If she refuses, then we'll have to kill her."

"Yes Hijikata-sama," Souji answered with a nod.

"Do we _have_ to do this?" Yamanami asked. "I've done some research on her and from what I've discovered she's only a young woman."

"She's dangerous," Hijikata hissed. "We _have_ to do this."

Kondo walked over to the front door and with a powerful kick, he knocked the door down. The three behind Kondo ran forward into the house to find that the first rooms were empty.

"Where is she?" Hijikata whispered, drawing his sword.

Souji looked around. "She might be upstairs."

Hijikata looked over towards Souji and pointed to a set of stairs in the corner of the room. The group moved at a slow pace towards the stairs, Hijikata being the first one to start the careful descent up the stairs.

The wooden stairs creaked as the group climbed them. When they reached the top of the stairs, they were greeted with an open door with a small light coming from inside of the room.

"Go," Hijikata whispered.

The group ran upstairs and stood in the large doorway of the open door. There in the large room was a kneeling woman who was sitting next to a small candle. In her hands were small pieces of cloth and a needle.

The young woman sitting there had black hair that appeared blue that had been gathered in the back and tied together and hit her back. Her two different colored eyes, her right one brown and the other blue. She was wearing a simple dark purple kimono.

Hijikata paused as he looked at the woman's eyes. Those different colored eyes reminded him of the woman that he had lost years ago and that was when he realized who this young woman was.

"Setsuna-chan," he whispered.

"Why are you here?" she asked. "Are you here to kill Toshimaro? He's not here."

"Where is he?" Kondo yelled, placing his sword in front of him. "And what connection do you have with him?"

"I will not lie," she answered, the light of the candle reflecting off of her face, "I am his wife, and I will not allow you to murder him."

"Tell is something," Kondo insisted. "Or we'll have to cut your head off."

She shook her head. "Nothing will come from me."

Souji stepped over towards Setsuna, and moved his sword next to her neck. She looked down at the sword for a moment and then closed her eyes.

"If you will not reveal his secrets then you will lose your head," Souji said coldly.

"That is something I've come to accept," Setsuna answered. "If I am to lose my head, then I will die with my secrets."

"So be it," Souji hissed.

"Setsuna-chan!" Hijikata called out.

"Setsuna-chan?" Yamanami asked, looking back towards Hijikata. "This is Setsuna-chan?"

"Hijikata-san," Setsuna whispered as she opened her eyes for the last time. "So you are alive."

Souji moved his sword clean across and cut off Setsuna's head without another thought. Her headless body fell to the floor as her head rolled, and blood spilled onto the floor and onto Souji's black outfit.

"Setsuna-chan," Hijikata whispered as he fell to his knees.

"Din-chan's sister?" Kondo asked, looking back towards Hijikata as well. "Did you know about this?"

"No." Hijikata shook his head.

"Din-nee?" Souji asked, coming out of his demon self.

"No," Kondo answered quickly. Kondo didn't want Souji to think that he had just done a thing to someone like Din who he loved so much. "This must be another Setsuna-chan."

Hijikata stood, placing his sword back onto his hip. He walked over to the body of the dead woman and looked down at it, remembering how alive she had been years ago when she had joined the Shinsengumi as a maid. Back then she hadn't been involved with anything like Yoshida and they were all on the same side.

"Souji-kun," Hijikata asked. "Please go and make sure that no one is around here."

"Yes Hijikata-sama." Souji bowed and stepped out of the room, leaving the three alone in the room.

"This is Din's sister," Hijikata said, still standing over the body. "The sister she's been looking for."

"This never leaves this room," Kondo said, stepping up beside Hijikata. "We'll hide this from everyone who was not here tonight, that way Din-chan will never get wind of it. That is an order."

"Yes Kondo-san," Hijikata whispered.

**000000000000000000000**

Thinking back to that day now, Hijikata realized how much of a mistake he had made that day. He tried to think about things he could have done differently but all he could think about was how he had betrayed Din that day.

"Din," he whispered. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Sanosuke had been waiting for things to settle down before sneaking outside and now that the courtyard was empty, he figured that this would be a perfect time. He tip-toed out into the courtyard and picked up the piece of paper Din had dropped when she charged after Hijikata. He carefully picked it up, and ran back to his room, being careful not to slip on the blood that covered the floor.

Once back in his room, Sanosuke looked at the piece of paper he had stolen to see why Setsuna had been killed.

_Setsuna Yoshida:_

_Murdered on the night of February for connections to the Choushuu. Her head was cut off in the standard methods after not giving information of the whereabouts of her husband, Yoshida Toshimaro. Her body was left behind and reportedly discovered by her husband a few nights later according to the watchers that night._

_Witnesses: Hijikata Toshizo, Kondo Isami, Okita Souji, and Yamanami Keisuke._

"Setsuna-chan," Sanosuke whispered as he fell to his knees.

* * *

When nightfall had arrived after such a long day, Tetsunosuke walked into his brother's workroom to check up on him. When he opened the door, he found his brother leaning against the backdoor, looking up towards the night sky.

"Tatsu-nii?" Tetsunosuke asked gently.

"What is it Tetsu-kun?" he answered with a slight crack in his voice.

"Are you…alright?"

The room fell silent. There was no answer from the older brother but the silence was enough of an answer for Tetsunosuke. Wanting to leave his brother alone, Tetsunosuke backed out of the room and started to close the door when he started to hear his brother laugh.

"Tatsu-nii?" Tetsunosuke asked as he took another step forward.

"It's funny," Tatsunosuke said with another laugh. "Is it just me or does the moon look blurry tonight?"

Tetsunosuke lowered his head. "Tatsu-nii."

Tatsunosuke continued to laugh as he looked up towards the moon and moved his right arm upwards to wipe the tears from his eyes. But now matter how many times he wiped his eyes, the moon above him never looked the same, instead it always had a blurry, misshapen outline to it.

* * *

R&R please! 


	36. Home

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

I know I said that I wouldn't update for a while, but I was smacked with a bunny and did five chapters for four more weeks (not coutning this one). Yay! Anyways, thank you fans for sticking with me! We're almost there!

Enjoy!

* * *

"..in? Din?" Ryoma's voice said.

Din opened her eyes to see a wooden roof above her head. She blinked her eyes a few times as she felt the medicine that Susumu had given her still lingering through her body. Her eyes blurred for a few minutes but when they cleared, Din moaned.

"What the hell?" she asked. "Where am I?"

"You're at Katsura-san's place!" Ryoma answered as he popped over her head.

"Katsura-san?" Din asked, blinking.

"Are you feeling alright?" the small man, Katsura asked.

Din opened her mouth to answer Katsura's question when pain from her injured side shot through her. Her hands moved down to her side and she grabbed the wound there, bringing her legs up to try to deal with the pain. Ryoma jumped up and held her legs down.

"Don't move around!" Ryoma yelled. "You're going to rip your wounds open!"

"Dammit!" she yelled out in pain. "Shit I thought I was dead!"

"Hold still!" Ryoma pinned her body down and looked at her side to make sure that it wasn't bleeding from her moving around. "Sarah! Come hold her down with me!"

Akesato, now called "Sarah" by Ryoma and Katsura moved over towards Din upper half and held her arms down onto the floor. Din opened her eyes as she felt someone hold her and looked up to see Sarah above her.

"You!" Din growled. "Get off of me!"

"Setsuna-san?" Sarah asked.

"Get her off of me!" Din screamed. "NOW!"

Sarah jumped back, fearing that she was going to be the one who ripped Din's wounds once more. Din finally relaxed and kept her hands on her side as Ryoma left her alone, and took a deep breath inwards.

"You're with us now Din, don't worry about anything," Ryoma said with a gentle tone.

"That's not what I'm concerned about!" Din hissed. "What is _she_ doing here?"

"Who?" Ryoma blinked. "Sarah-chan?"

Din was about to yell out things about Sarah but the memories of what had happened at the Shinsengumi came flooding into her mind. Tears gathered underneath her eyes and she began crying, crying from the pain coming from her side, and crying because of the loss of her sister, and all of her friends back at the Shinsengumi.

"They killed Setsuna-chan," Din whimpered out. "It was them dammit! Them!"

"Din," Ryoma whispered.

Ryoma moved over towards the top of Din's head and placed her head in his lap. She continued to cry while he gently petted her head, trying to keep her still enough so that she wouldn't open her wounds.

"It'll be okay Din," he whispered. "Just wait a little longer, and everything will be okay."

* * *

Three days had passed and in those three days, Kondo, Susumu, and Ito had left without saying anything about Din. Ito hadn't been told about what had happened with Din, and Kondo intended to keep it that way as long as he could. Hijikata, on the other hand, intended to make sure that everyone understood that Din was now considered a traitor to the Shinsengumi, and he was going to start with the Ichimura brothers.

"Ichimura!!" Hijikata called.

Soon after he yelled, he could hear the rushed footsteps of the small Ichimura brother running down the hallway. Tetsunosuke slid the backdoor open, and fell down to his knees.

"What is it Hijikata-sama?" he asked, lowering his head.

"I wanted to talk to you about Din," Hijikata said, finding it hard to say her name.

"What about her?" Tetsunosuke looked up towards his master.

"You got in the way of her beheading," Hijikata said as he closed his eyes. "You are never to do something like that again."

Tetsunosuke hung his head, disappointed in his actions. "Yes sir."

"Why did you do it?"

"For Tatsu-nii," Tetsunosuke admitted. "I couldn't just let her die when we have a doctor on the grounds. Hijikata-sama, please, I'm sorry that I did something like that but…"

"But?"

"I couldn't let her die!" Tetsunosuke yelled as he clenched his hands together. "I'm sorry Hijikata-sama but I couldn't let another person in the Shinsengumi die! Please don't kill her Hijikata-sama!"

After everything Tetsunosuke had been through in the Shinsengumi, he didn't want to see another person die. He had lost Ayumu, and Yamanami, two people who had he grown to love. They were gone now, and Tetsunosuke didn't want to lose anyone else, especially someone who meant so much to his brother.

Hijikata gripped his clothing. "Go and bring your brother here."

"Tatsu-nii? Why?"

"Now."

Tetsunosuke stood up and ran off to his brother's office. Hijikata sat there, alone, and began to think of everything Yamanami and Kondo had said about Tatsunosuke and Din. He could feel himself start to get angry about everything that had been going on, and before he knew it, he heard Tatsunosuke calling his name from the backdoor.

"Hijikata-sama?" Tatsunosuke asked.

"Come in and close the door," Hijikata ordered.

Tatsunosuke did as told, and then kneeled down on the floor behind the demon vice-commander. The room fell silent as the two men sat there, Hijikata trying to think of something to say without telling Tatsunosuke how he felt about Din. When he finally thought of what to say, he started with a heavy sigh.

"How do you feel about Din?" Hijikata asked.

"Din-chan…and I…are close," Tatsunosuke said as he thought about what to say.

"How close?"

"Friends."

"Let me ask you one more time, how do _you_ feel about Din?" Hijikata hissed.

Tatsunosuke looked down towards the wooden floor. "Hijikata-sama…I don't know. In all honesty I wish I was sure myself but…I'm not."

"What kind of an answer is that?" Hijikata yelled, forcing Tatsunosuke to flinch. "Do you love her or not?"

"I," Tatsunosuke blushed, "I…do."

Hijikata closed his eyes as those words came into his mind. His first instinct was the feeling of anger and jealously but that was soon replaced by a sense of disgust and hate. He took a deep breath in as he prepared himself for what he was about to say, even though a part of him felt as if he had a _right_ to say it..

"You are never to see her again," Hijikata said.

Tatsunosuke brought his head back up. "_What_?"

Hijikata turned his head to the right a bit. "Din is a traitor to the Shinsengumi, she was spying for the Choushuu alliance and is one of the leaders."

Before Tatsunosuke could stop himself, tears fell from his eyes. The woman he had fallen for was part of the Choushuu alliance; the men who he thought had killed his parents. She was one of the leaders of the men who _killed his family._ Because of her men he had been orphaned along with his brother but it was his brother he felt so bad for. Tetsunosuke had gotten along with Din, not knowing that she had to have something to do with his father's death.

But then again Din claimed to have known Tatsunosuke's father, he had even asked her to watch over his boys in case something happened to him. How could his father trust someone who was part of the Choushuu alliance?

Ideas flooded Tatsunosuke's mind, ideas that hit so closely to home. What if Din had known about his father's death but had done nothing at all. But the more Tatsunosuke thought about it, the worse the thoughts became until he finally thought of one that twisted his stomach around and created a feeling of having to throw up. What if Din had been the one to give the orders?

"If you ever see her, you are to bring her here or kill her on the spot do you understand?" Hijikata said, bringing Tatsunosuke out of his thoughts.

"Understood Hijikata-sama," Tatsunosuke agreed. He would have agreed to anything in that moment due to the fact that his thoughts were so far off. When the symptoms of throwing up came back to him, Tatsunosuke stood.

"I have to go Hijikata-sama," Tatsunosuke said as he held his stomach with his right hand. "I'm not feeling so well."

"You are dismissed."

Tatsunosuke slid open the back door, closed it, and then stumbled into the backyard. His feet threatened to trip over one another as he tired to walk over to the outhouse. He looked up as his vision doubled, but he managed to see the well was closer to him then the outhouse.

_I'm not going to make it_. He told himself.

The horrible feeling within his stomach moved up to his mouth right when Tatsunosuke had made it to the well. He bent over the edge to a place where no one would see or hear him and let everything go. Everything he had picked at that morning and everything he had eaten the night before was coming up as he tired to remain as silent as he could, that was, until he started coughing.

This was disgusting. This war was disgusting. This place was digesting. The taste in his mouth was disgusting. It was sickening how last time he had thrown up he had been stressed out about a _date _and now he was here, sick to his stomach about something that might not even be true. And yet…Tatsunosuke couldn't help but keep a small glimmer of hope in his mind for Din.

_Din-chan._ He thought as he fell to his knees, avoiding his vomit. _Tetsu-kun._

Tatsunosuke had endangered Tetsunosuke. By placing Tetsunosuke with Din, Tatsunosuke had placed his younger brother in extreme danger with the people who had murdered their parents. How could he do such a thing when _he_ was the one who was supposed to be watching Tetsunosuke? How could be become so careless?

_Never again._ Tatsunosuke moved his right hand to his mouth. _I can't ever be that careless with Tetsu-kun again.

* * *

_

There were no words for the pain Sanosuke was feeling at the current moment. The pain of knowing that his leaders had killed the woman he loved was a pain that he couldn't find words for. He knew that Hijikata, Kondo, Souji, and Yamanami had killed Setsuna for a reason, but it still hurt.

"Damn," Sanosuke whispered.

He had placed himself up against the wall of his bedroom with his legs brought up to his chest. The letter that told of Setsuna's murder sat at the bottom of his feet, turned over so that Sanosuke couldn't read Setsuna's name. The back door was open slightly to allow fresh air into the room but Sanosuke didn't much care.

"Setsuna-chan," he whispered.

That name had come up so many times in Din's stay in the Shinsengumi, but now that Din was gone Sanosuke feared that Setsuna would fade away once more. The talk he had with Shinpachi and Heisuke had stirred up so many wonderful memories within Sanosuke that he had forgotten over the long course of time and he didn't want to lose that. It seemed that Setsuna's name had become such a taboo word and Sanosuke now knew why.

"Sanosuke-kun!" Shinpachi called from outside.

Sanosuke didn't answer. He had told Tetsunosuke earlier that he wasn't feeling well and didn't want to be bothered for the rest of the day. This day would be the day where Sanosuke would mourn for the woman he had lost so many years ago.

* * *

Rain began to fall from the sky at sunset and was still falling late into the evening. Hijikata had left his back door open so he could watch the rain fall from his futon. His covers were pulled up to his nose to keep him warm. He laid there, watching the rain fall in the dark room. A bowl of largely chopped vegetables sat near the top of Hijikata's head, untouched.

Cold wind blew into Hijikata's room from the outside, and gentle moved a strand of loose hair to the side. When the wind blew, Hijikata opened his eyes and looked out towards the rain.

The door behind him slid open without warning. Hijikata didn't bother to turn around and look at who was coming in, he assumed it was Souji, he was the only one who walked in without permission now that Kondo was gone.

"Hijikata-sama?" Souji asked.

"Hm?" Hijikata mumbled.

Souji closed the door once he had stepped in. "Are you alright? You haven't come out all day."

"I'm fine," Hijikata answered as he closed his eyes. "I'm just not feeling well today."

"Strange, Sanosuke-kun is the same way." Souji laughed a bit. "Perhaps if you closed the back door?"

"No. Leave it open."

Souji kneeled down behind Hijikata. "What's the matter? I can tell something's wrong with you, why don't you tell me?"

Without saying anything, Hijikata stood out of his futon and over to the open back door. He leaned against the right side as his hair fell down past his waist in loose threads. Souji moved his attention away from Hijikata, and over to the uneaten bowl of food he had dropped off earlier.

"Why didn't you eat dinner?" Souji asked. "Shinpachi-kun did a good job tonight."

"It's not the same," Hijikata said in a low tone.

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

Hijikata's kimono opened up a bit more over his chest as he looked up towards the raining sky. His chest was now exposed down to his waist line and the cold wind slapped against it but he didn't mind.

Souji hung his head. "Hijikata-sama…what are we going to do now?"

"Train," he answered. "Just train until Isami-kun, Yamazaki-kun, and Ito-sama return. We have nothing more to do but patrol this area and train one another until something happens."

"Yes Hijikata-sama." Souji nodded. "But what are we going to do about Din-nee?"

Hijikata paused for a few minutes before he answered. "Nothing. We don't even know if she's alive right now. If she reemerges we'll figure out what to do then."

"But what are we going to do now?" Souji moved forward a bit. "What if she is dying out there? Hiji—"

"She's no longer my concern," Hijikata interrupted with a harsh tone. "She is no longer underneath this roof so you are not to worry about her."

Souji opened his mouth to speak once more when he spotted Hijikata's left hand gripping his kimono tightly in a fist. Souji backed down and looked back towards the door he had entered from.

"The only thing I wonder," Hijikata said, catching Souji's attention. "Is what she's doing right now."

That line was a line Souji had heard before in young lovers. It was also something Souji never thought would come from Hijikata's mouth. But the thing that bothered Souji the most, was that he didn't know what to think of it. Was Hijikata worried about Din? Or would he act just as cold her to as he had when she had been living with him?

_Din-nee._ Souji thought as he looked up towards the ceiling. _Come home soon. Please._

"Souji-kun…Din is dead to us," Hijikata said.

Souji nodded his head.

* * *

Din opened her eyes to see Ryoma above her once more. He was looking down at her with a smile across his face. Din blinked slowly when her ears picked up on the sound of the rain outside.

"How's your wound?" Ryoma asked.

"Painful," she answered. "I don't care as long as I'm not bleeding anymore. I'm just tired."

"You've been sleeping for a while now," Ryoma said. "We have to meet up with our future in a few weeks."

"Oh." Din sighed and looked at the back door.

She had been placed in a bare room with nothing but a futon and back door. There weren't any windows, Ryoma didn't want anyone to know where Din was after what had happened at the Shinsengumi.

"Ryo?" she asked.

"What?"

"When will we finally be home?"

Ryoma looked back down towards Din to see her looking out towards the back door. He moved his eyes away from Din's face, and down to the side where her wound had been given to her.

"Depends on what you consider home." Ryoma moved his right hand down onto the right side of Din's face.

Din looked back towards Ryoma and smiled. "When we'll finally be with everyone who has fought for the country. That family I grew to love with you…with Shinta-kun."

Ryoma blinked. "Shinta? You miss him too?"

With a nod Din returned her attention to the back door. Admitting that she missed someone only made her realize just how much she missed everyone back at the Shinsengumi. But out of everyone there, Din missed Tatsunosuke the most. She didn't know why, but she missed his smile, laugh and his voice.

"Ryo?"

"What?" he asked with a deep sigh.

"Will you try and save the Ichimura kids after a year?"

Ryoma nodded. "We'll go and check in on them once we get our job done in the capital."

"Good."

The two returned their looks to the back of the room and listened to the rain falling around them outside. Din moved her hand away from her side, and moved it over to Ryoma's hand. Ryoma moved his fingers between hers, and gripped them tightly.

"We'll be home soon," Ryoma whispered.

* * *

"Even!!"

Ito had managed to sneak away from Kondo and Susumu for a few hours to himself. Kondo let him go without a fuss, not knowing who Ito was planning to see. He was going to a meeting for Choushuu members that he knew well.

Ito slammed his yellow cup down onto a table with men sitting all around it. He brought the cup back up to reveal two dice, both on two odd sides. The men around the room laughed and booed as Ito shook his head back and forth in disappointment. It was a normal game Ito had always played with the Choushuu men who had no idea that Ito worked with the Shinsengumi, and that's the way he wanted it. Just as Ito began to play again, Suzu entered the room with Hikagami by his side. The room hushed as Suzu entered.

"Don't stop on my behalf!" Suzu said in a playful tone. "I've just come here to speak with Ito-sama. Please, keep playing chou-han."

The group of men returned to playing the dice game as Ito stood and kneeled before Suzu and Hikagami. Suzu smiled and nodded his head.

"I didn't want to reveal your…other alliances to the other men," Suzu said in a whisper. "Sorry for calling you over so rudely."

"It's nothing," Ito said as he shook his head. "You're such a pretty young thing…it's hard to believe that such a pretty thing is so sly! What do you want me for?"

Suzu closed his eyes for a long minute. "When the Shogunate falls we will require weapons and supplies. Deliver them to the Yamatoya and make sure to bring only the highest quality artillery and cannons. Once we have all of that, the blow to the Shogunate will be swift and hard."

"You're going to take down the Shinsengumi?" Ito asked in awe.

"Don't worry!" Suzu smiled. "Everything will be fine; I won't let anything _too_ bad happen. But Ito-sama, I have something else to ask you."

"Anything." Ito bowed once more.

"I want you to remain close to the Shinsengumi. There are two people there I want more then anything," Suzu said. "Remain close…very close."

"Yes." Ito bowed again, a third time. "Anything you want Suzu-san."

* * *

R&R please!! 


	37. Rule

I don't own PMK or any of it's characters, I only own Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

Thank you for the reviews!! They brighten up my day!! No matter how small/large they are!

Remember awhile back I said that this wouldn't be going on for much longer? Well I have a guess at how many chapters this is going to keep going, and I'm aiming to finish it within fifty chapters. ((Damn!)) I know I said only a few more but when I sat down and planned it out it turned out that I had A LOT more to do within this story. Not only with Din and her issues, but with the PMK storyline entirely. (If you have the fourth and fifth PMK mangas you know what I'm talking about.) I really hope that all of you will stick with me through the chapters, since the ending will be something I hope no one sees coming. Thank you!!

Enjoy!

* * *

Two weeks had passed since Din had left the Shinsengumi household in such an uproar, and things were back to the way they used to be. Shinpachi and Sanosuke took turns cooking, and Tetsunosuke had been given all the chores that Din would normally do. No one spoke about the time when Din had been at the Shinsengumi, instead they only talked about battles and training that happened while she was there, nothing more.

"Tatsu-nii!" Tetsunosuke called as he into the Shinsengumi headquarters. "Tatsu-nii! I have something for you!"

Hearing his little brother call out to him, Tatsunosuke stuck his head out of the back door of his office. He spotted Tetsunosuke running down the backyard with a thin letter in his right hand.

"What?" Tatsunosuke blinked.

Tetsunosuke arrived in front of his brother. "There was this guy standing outside of the gates who wanted me to give this to you."

The smaller red head handed Tatsunosuke the thin letter. Tatsunosuke took it, and studied over the address to find that he didn't recognize it.

"Did the man say anything else?" Tatsunosuke asked.

Tetsunosuke shook his head back and forth. "Nope, he just gave this to me and told me to give it to Ichimura Tatsunosuke."

"Oh." Tatsunosuke looked back down at the letter. "Thank you Tetsu-kun."

Silence set in as Tetsunosuke stood there in wait. He wanted to know what was in the letter, and he wasn't going to leave until he found out. Tatsunosuke, on the other hand, feared what might be in it.

Tatsunosuke noticed Tetsunosuke's staring. "What?"

"Open it!" Tetsunosuke said impatiently.

"Alright." Tatsunosuke sighed and moved the letter in a position to where he could open it.

Tatsunosuke ripped the top of the letter open and moved his hand down inside where he felt another thin piece of paper. He grabbed it with care, and slid it out of the letter to find that it was a small picture. It was the picture he had taken with Din the night before she left with Ryoma.

"Oh." Tatsunosuke's smile disappeared.

"What?" Tetsunosuke perked up and tried to look at the picture. "What is it?"

"Nothing." Tatsunosuke looked away. "Just go back to what you were doing Tetsu-kun, thank you for bringing me the letter."

"But…" Tetsunosuke blinked. "What is it?"

He wanted to know what small piece of paper could have killed his brother's good mood so quickly. It had taken days for Tetsunosuke to get Tatsunosuke to smile after Din had left and he didn't want his brother to be so upset again.

Tetsunosuke began moving around his brother to try and see what had upset him. Tatsunosuke fought with him as he tried to hide the picture from _his _younger brother but the stronger Tetsunosuke grabbed his right arm and pulled the picture down towards him.

"Oh…" Tetsunosuke released Tatsunosuke's arm. "Tatsu-nii…I'm sorry I didn't mean to—"

Tatsunosuke smiled. "Don't worry about it Tetsu-kun. Go back to finishing your chores now before Hijikata-sama yells at you."

"O-Okay."

Tetsunosuke took a step backwards, and then another one until he picked up enough speed to run away from Tatsunosuke. Once Tatsunosuke had lost sight of his brother, he stepped back into his work room and closed the door until nothing but a small crack was left between it and the wall. He moved back over to his desk littered with papers and kneeled down, the smile still on his face.

"Tetsu-kun you're so nosey," he whispered to himself in a happy tone. "You always think that you've done something wrong."

He slid the picture underneath a large pile of paper that he had yet to file, and picked up another piece of paper. He began to work on it with the smile still on his face as if nothing were wrong with him.

"_I want to take you across the ocean with me. Will you, one day?"_

Tatsunosuke pressed down harder on the brush he was using as the line Din had said entered his mind. He bit his lower lip and forced himself to keep working, even though his mind was elsewhere in a place that demanded more attention.

"_I think I'll be waiting for that day."_

"Dammit," he muttered to himself. "Focus…you're working."

"_When I'm gone Tatsu-kun? Will you wait for me to get back?"_

Tatsunosuke grabbed the brush in his hands tighter then he had been before. He closed his eyes for a long minute as he searched within himself for a push to keep working, and a push to remove Din from his mind.

"_Din is a traitor to the Shinsengumi; she was spying for the Choushuu alliance and is one of the leaders."_

"I know," he whispered. "I know that now but…"

He knew that he had placed Tetsunosuke in danger by falling for Din and even by thinking about her right now but he couldn't help himself. He knew that she was now wanted by the Shinsengumi and would die on the spot next time she was seen but he never got to tell her _how he felt_.

"If I had only been stronger," Tatsunosuke told himself. "I should have told her."

_No. _He thought as he shook his head._ She's not on our side anymore; she betrayed all of us…even me. She was with the people who killed my parents and caused so much suffering between Tetsu-kun and I. _

He had to rid himself of his feelings for Din. There wasn't a choice in the matter for Tatsunosuke, Hijikata had ordered it, and it was Hijikata he now worked under. There wasn't anyone in the world Tatsunosuke would risk losing his job for because it meant that there was a chance of Tetsunosuke losing his home once more. Tatsunosuke didn't want to end up back on the streets because of someone who wasn't related to him.

Then again Tatsunosuke _wanted_ to be with Din. She was the first real person he had fallen in love with and he wanted to be with her. He wanted to be next to her and just hear her voice once more. That's all he wanted, her.

"_Nothing. I'm just happy I'm here with you now."_

"But you're not here."

Tatsunosuke moved forward and lost control of the tears that had been burning behind his eyes. The brush he had been holding fell from his hands and onto the table. He moved his right hand away from the brush and to his forehead.

* * *

"Why did you have to leave Din-chan?"

"Please Ryo! Please!" Din begged.

In the weeks that Din had been away from the Shinsengumi, her wound had healed well thanks to medicines Susumu had given Ryoma. Though the wound hadn't fully healed, Din had been acting as if it had already. Everything had been going smoothly with Din until she remembered that she had forgotten something back at the Shinsengumi.

"I have to go back and get it Ryo!" Din said as she tugged on Ryoma's kimono top. "I can't leave this place without it!"

Ryoma had come in to see how Din was doing at lunch when she grabbed his kimono. She was sitting up in front of Ryoma with her hands on his chest and a glisten in her eyes that told Ryoma that she was about to cry.

"I can't go back to the Shinsengumi!" Ryoma said in a soft tone. "If I go back there I'll die!"

"Then let me go!" Din whimpered. "Please, it's the only picture and letter I have of Ryuunosuke-sama! I can't be without it!"

Ryoma shook his head. "I can't let you go, or any of my men."

"But," Din's eyes began to water, "I can't leave it there!"

Ryoma grabbed Din's hand and moved it away from his kimono. "Din…I just can't."

Din began to cry as she lowered her head. Ryoma stood there, unable to do or say anything to her. He hated to see her like this but knew that there was too much at stake right now to go and get a picture.

"I'm sorry Din," Ryoma said as he too, lowered his head.

* * *

Two hours later, Tatsunosuke's ears picked up on the sound and smell of something burning. He stood up, and walked into the backyard to make sure that the fire wasn't out of control and found Hijikata standing in front of a large pile of leafs. Tatsunosuke walked over to him, and saw Hijikata throw a small piece of paper into the fire.

"A little early to be burning leafs don't you think?" Tatsunosuke asked, trying to make good conversation.

"I'm not only burning leafs." Hijikata closed his eyes. "I'm burning paperwork that Din left behind."

"Oh." Tatsunosuke looked away from Hijikata.

Burning what Din had left behind seemed so final. As if Hijikata knew that Din was never going to come back, or even as if he knew that she had passed away. Tatsunosuke stepped away from the fire that told him that Din was in fact gone and began to walk away when Hijikata turned back to him.

"I want you to go through what's left of Din's things," Hijikata ordered. "Make sure there's nothing in there about her being here. If there's anything about her ties with the Choushuu, you are to give it to me is that understood?"

Tatsunosuke nodded. "Yes sir."

With that done, Tatsunosuke walked away from his adviser and over to Din's room. He took a large breath inwards as his hand touched the door. It was going to be strange to go in there and not have her there.

"Get over it," Tatsunosuke told himself.

He slid the door open and walked inside to the room he had been in thousands of times. He looked around to see papers scattered around the room, and two small wooden boxes sitting in the corner of the room near her futon. Her clothing still sat on the floor, waiting to be used while other items hung in the closet.

It felt so surreal to be in this now empty room. Tatsunosuke looked around and shivered. There was such a cold feeling in the room that he couldn't describe. He knew that the winter season had come early this year but it wasn't _that_ cold outside. It was so cold in the room. Tatsunosuke shivered once more as he walked over to the papers and began to go through them.

The papers were nothing of importance. Tatsunosuke sorted through them rather quickly and moved on to other areas of the room where more papers lay scattered. Nothing caught his attention or brought anything to alarm as far as Tatsunosuke could see.

Once every piece of paper on the floor had been looked through, Tatsunosuke moved his attention to the two small wooden boxes in the corner of the room. He picked up the right one first, and slid the top off only to see a picture of Ryuunosuke with Din.

"Father," Tatsunosuke whispered.

It was still a bit strange to see Din in a picture with his father when, before Din gave him one, he didn't have any pictures himself. He couldn't remember Din from when he was younger which bothered him, but then again he really couldn't remember too much from when he was younger before his parents died.

_What kind of relationship did you have with Din-chan Father?_ He thought to himself.  
_There are so many questions I want to ask you now…but I can't. Please Father…give me a sign on what to do._

The back door slid open, and Hijikata moved into the room with a single step. Tatsunosuke placed the picture down onto the floor and looked up towards his commander.

"Yes Hijikata-sama?" he asked.

"What can I burn?" Hijikata asked as he looked around the room.

"Uh." Tatsunosuke looked around and spotted the useless papers he had gone through a few minutes ago. "All of those can be burned; they're just paperwork about tabs at the old bakery."

"Fine."

Hijikata bent down and picked up the large pile of paper. Without saying another word he left with the papers, and closed the back door behind himself. Tatsunosuke returned his look to the picture of his father. After looking at it for a few more minutes, he put it down beside him and continued to look through the box.

The box contained more pictures of when Din was younger, and some pictures of when she had grown older. Some of the pictures she was by herself, while in others she was with people Tatsunosuke didn't know. He moved through the pictures, but stopped when he found a picture of a young Din with another woman that looked similar to Din. Sestuna.

_Setsuna-san?_ Tatsunosuke asked himself.

He had never seen Setsuna before but now that he was looking back at a picture of her, he could see the similarities between Din and Setsuna. But instead of looking at the picture, Tatsunosuke placed it back into the wooden box and closed it tightly. The box contained things that Tatsunosuke _didn't_ want to throw out. These things were items that Din treasured and Tatsunosuke couldn't bear to throw them away. He would keep these items, just in case Din ever came back.

With this box done, Tatsunosuke reached over to the unchecked box and grabbed it. He pulled it over to himself and began looking through it. The first thing he found was just a plain piece of paper but beneath that he found a picture of a young Din standing beside a young Hijikata.

_I can't throw these things away._ Tatsunosuke thought._ These things mean too much to Din-chan…I couldn't give these to Hijikata-sama to burn._

Tatsunosuke put everything back in the box he had taken out, and made sure that both of them were sealed the way they had been when Did had done it. He placed one box on top of another and carried the two out of the room. He carefully stepped into his office and hid the two boxes away in his closet and then returned to Din's room. When he returned to her room, he began searching through another pile of papers when Hijikata entered the room once more.

"Anything more?" Hijikata asked.

Tatsunosuke grabbed the papers he had been looking over. "Just these sir and I'm not done looking them over."

"Fine." Hijikata turned away. "I'll be back in a few minutes to collect those."

Tatsunosuke nodded. "Yes Hijikata-sama."

Hijikata left the room once more and closed the door. Tatsunosuke looked back down towards the papers he was to file and began concentrating as hard as he could on them.

* * *

"Damn," Ryoma whispered.

Night had fallen, and Ryoma had left his hideout in search of food for everyone that worked underneath him. He was wearing a disguise that covered his face and left his eyes visible while everything else remained hidden. Personally he hated to wear such things but it was the only way to get around without getting sent to the Shinsengumi or being chased around.

"_Please, it's the only picture and letter I have of Ryuunosuke-sama! I can't be without it!" _

Ryoma sighed. _Why do you have such a hold over Din Ryuunosuke-sama? She's still so damn attached to you. _

In truth, Ryoma felt horrible that he couldn't sneak his way into the Shinsengumi in order to pick up Din's forgotten items. There was just no easy way around it. He couldn't just walk into the Shinsengumi and retrieve her items, the two were _both_ wanted by the Shinsengumi and it was just too dangerous.

_Sorry Din. _Ryoma thought as he hung his head.

"Please, just a few loafs of bread," a familiar voice said.

Ryoma looked out ahead of him and saw Tatsunosuke standing in front of a bakery with a frown on his face. Ryoma paused for a moment; he didn't know if he should approach Tatsunosuke or not when the image of Din crying came back into his mind. It was worth a shot to _try_ and ask Tatsunosuke to at least get that one picture.

With a slight jump in his step, Ryoma walked over to Tatsunosuke and stood beside him. He began ordering his own bread while Tatsunosuke waited for his order to be filled. Ryoma got his small order first, and looked over towards Tatsunosuke.

"Not as good as Din's 'eh?" Ryoma asked.

Tatsunosuke froze. "What?"

"Din!" Ryoma lowered the covering around his face and took a bite from the bread. "Hey there Dragon Boy!"

Tatsunosuke looked around at the people around him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm still in Kyoto," Ryoma answered with a grin.

"Where's Din? Is she okay?"

Ryoma nodded. "Perky as ever! But speakin' about her Dragon Boy, I've got somethin' I wanna ask you."

The woman at the bakery handed Tatsunosuke the bread he had ordered. Tatsunosuke took it, and began to walk away from the bakery with Ryoma by his side only with his cover back over his mouth. They walked behind a building and ducked away from the crowd.

"What?" Tatsunosuke asked once they were alone.

"Din's gotta a bunch of stuff back at your place," Ryoma began, "she wants the picture of your Dad before we leave."

"Leave?" Tatsunosuke's heart dropped down into his stomach.

All of Tatsunosuke's hopes of Din coming back to the Shinsengumi, no matter how small they were, crumbled in that single moment. Din was still leaving just as she had planned to. She was going somewhere that Tatsunosuke couldn't go with her; no matter how much he loved her.

"I'm askin' you to get that picture for me Dragon Boy." Ryoma bowed. "Do you think you can get it for me?"

Tatsunosuke looked away. Could he help the opposite side that he was told to have nothing to do with? He couldn't stand the fact that there was something he could do to help Din but at the same time _it was forbidden_. But this was his last chance to do something for the woman he loved.

"I'll do it," Tatsunosuke said. "Give me a few minutes and I can get the picture for you."

"Really?!" Ryoma perked up. "You can really get it for her?"

Tatsunosuke nodded. "On one condition."

Ryoma blinked. "What?"

"You tell her that I did it for her."

"Sure." Ryoma smiled.

* * *

Tatsunosuke returned to the Shinsengumi and put the food in the kitchen that he had collected. He began to sneak out of the kitchen and back into his room to get the pictures Din wanted when Shinpachi stepped into the kitchen.

"Hey Tatsu-kun," Shinpachi said.

Tatsunosuke jumped. "What?"

"You forgot the radishes," Shinpachi said as he pointed to the bag Tatsunosuke had brought in. "Can you run back out and get them? I need them for dinner."

"Uh sure!" Tatsunosuke walked out of the kitchen. "Give me a minute or two alright?"

"Anything!" Shinpachi called out.

Tatsunosuke sunk back into his room and grabbed another bag he used to keep loose paperwork in. He walked over to the closet where he had hidden the boxes earlier and placed them both into the bag.

His heart pounded away in his chest with every second that passed. Tatsunosuke was nervous to be doing something that was said to be against the rules but for once he decided to go against the feeling in his stomach. The thought of making Din happy for the last time was the only thing that kept Tatsunosuke from backing out of this deal, and that was all he needed.

Once both boxes were safely in the bag, Tatsunosuke backed out of his room and left the Shinsengumi once more under the promise of bringing home more food. He ran down the street, being careful not to damage the boxes. He ran until he reached the spot where Ryoma stood in wait.

"I've got both of her boxes," Tatsunosuke said through a series of pants. "I found them earlier today."

"Wow!" Ryoma reached out and took the boxes from the red head. "Great job Dragon Boy!"

"Please," Tatsunosuke moved his fingers into a fist, "take good care of Din-chan."

Ryoma looked away from the boxes and back towards Tatsunosuke, blinking. He looked down at Tatsunosuke's hands to see how tight his fists were, and smiled. Tatsunosuke moved his attention back towards Ryoma and cocked his right eyebrow.

"Why are you so happy?" Tatsunosuke asked.

Ryoma shook his head. "Ya know you're exactly like your father and I think that's why Din likes you so much."

"My Father?" Tatsunosuke blinked.

"Never mind, that was the wrong thing to say." Ryoma moved his free hand behind his neck and began to rub his neck. "Din likes you a lot Dragon Boy, and I'm sorry that things had to turn out this way."

"Oh." Tatsunosuke relaxed. "Sakamoto-san, please don't tell Din-chan how I feel about her."

Ryoma looked back at Tatsunosuke, confused. "Why not?"

"_I_ want to tell her," Tatsunosuke said with a slight smile.

Ryoma returned the smile and began to step away from the other man. "G'night Dragon Boy."

Tatsunosuke watched Ryoma walk away with the boxes held in his hands with care. There was something about this moment that told Tatsunosuke that he _was_ going to get the chance to tell Din to her face how he felt but he didn't know when or where. He just knew that he _would_ see Din once more. All he could do was hope for that time to come soon.

* * *

R&R please! 


	38. Meet

I don't own PMK or any of its characters. I only own Din, Setsuna, and Seimura.

Thank you for the reviews! Wow, you know this thing has been up for a year now? I missed the one year anniversary because I'm sick, and I've been sick for a few days now. This month has been hard on my whole family.

Moving away from all of that, I want to thank all of you for sticking with me this far with this story. I had no idea that this story would go on this long and become this large in chapter numbers. I think when this is done and I put the epilogue up, I'll leave something telling what _was_ going to happen. Just a few short things I can always remember this thing by. I'm rambling now aren't I? Anyways, this is a flashback chapter, and the one after this will be one as well.

Enjoy!

* * *

The sun released rays upon Japan broke records that the elderly man across the street had been keeping. Heat waves rose off of the streets and back into the sky, only to be caught in a dry wind. The heat would have been something to complain about, but the dry wind that came with it made the heat something more then just something to complain about. The heat had become a hassle to the people, but there was nothing they could do about it.

A twenty-four year old Din was running down the streets with her kimono pulled up around her knees. Her breathing came quick and hard as she stretched her legs out in front of her as fast as she could. She avoided the people walking down the market the best she could until she arrived in front of a large, brown building with flags flapping in the front.

This place had been where she was to meet a man who promised to help her find her sister. He asked her to run a few errands for him first, nothing much more then gathering food for his men and cooking it for them. After she had earned his trust, he had asked her to come to his place where they would finally meet in person. This was the day Din had been asking for over and over again, someone else would finally be helping her look for Setsuna. Finally.

Her black hair remained tied back into a high ponytail, only now her ponytail barely touched the back of her neck. The scar that would normally cross her face had yet to be cut. She was wearing a purple kimono that she had pulled up to her knees and a red slash around her midsection.

"Here?" she asked out loud through panting.

She dug her heels into the ground and came to a stop in front of the odd building. This would be the place where she would find information about her missing sister. She stepped into the door with care, and walked into a large open room.

"Hello?" she asked out loud. "I'm here to meet Ichimura-san?"

"Ichimura-san?" a male voice asked.

"Yes!" Din yelled back.

"Come into the backroom!" the male voice ordered.

Din moved her hand down to her hip and grabbed a sai there. She took slow steps as she walked through another door with caution. She pushed back the curtains that led into the room, and saw a large group of men standing there, talking and laughing with one another.

"Hinto-san!" a man called. "Come over here and meet the man who will help you!"

Din did as told and walked into the group of men. There stood a man, taller then the rest with dark red hair that had been tied back into a low ponytail. He wore a pair of pants and white dress shirt that Din had never seen before on a Japanese man and a smile across his face.

"_Hello_!" he said in English.

Din blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Hinto-san correct?" he asked in Japanese.

"Yes." She nodded.

"I'm Ichimura Ryuunosuke, and I'm going to help you find your sister," he said with a bow.

Her eyes softened. "Thank you so much Ichimura-sama!" she said with a bow.

Din's heart began to pound away in her chest just from those simple words. Hearing someone else say them meant so much to her. To have someone that had ties to other important people help her in her search made a goofy smile cross her face that hadn't been there in years.

"Ichimura-sama?" he blinked. He stepped over towards her as she rose up and ruffed her hair until strands of it traveled in every direction. "Please, call me Ichimura-kun! You make me sound like an old man!"

Din blinked. This man wasn't the man she had been expecting to be here. This wasn't the encounter she had been expecting…it was so much more.

* * *

Two days had passed since Din had moved into the house where Ryuunosuke held his meetings. She cooked for the household of friendly men who all worked underneath Ryuunosuke, doing jobs he needed to have get done. It was better then the house she lived in with her adoptive parents, and she rarely had to go back to her new parents now that she had a stable job. Everything had been going well.

"Hinto-san! Hinto-san!" a man yelled as he ran into the house. "Hinto-san, where are you?"

Din stepped out of the kitchen. "What is it?" she asked.

"I've got a notice!" the man said as he ran over to her. He handed her the small piece of paper, and she began to read over it.

"Where did you get this?" Din asked while she read.

"I was doing research on people when I came across this, Hinto-san, you should wait before you do anything rash. Wait for Ryuunosuke-sama to come back!" the man said.

Din forced herself to reread the letter. Written on the paper were addresses of places where the Choushuu were going to be, and who was addressed to come to the meetings. Setsuna's name was written on one of the address that began a few hours ago. Din looked up from the paper, and back at the man.

"I have to go," Din said.

The man shook his head. "You can't, you could die if you go in unprepared."

Din shook her head. "I have no choice! I can't wait; Ichimura-kun won't be back until tomorrow night! I have to go now!!"

Without waiting, Din stuffed the piece of paper down into her kimono and ran out of the house. The man reached out to grab Din but it was too late, Din was long gone. The man ran up the stairs of the house and into a small room.

"Men, we must get Ryuunosuke-sama! Hinto-san has taken off!" the man alerted. "Hurry up!"

Din ran down the streets as fast as her legs could carry her. She looked down at the piece of paper the other man had given her and looked around to the addresses around her to see where she was. After running down a mile she found the house listed on the paper. She grabbed the sais she had brought with her, and approached the front door.

"Where's Hinto-san?" a male voice asked.

_Hinto-san? _Din thought as she leaned against the door. _Setsuna?_

"You mean Setsuna-san?" a young male voice said.

_There's a child in there. _Din's eyes widened.

"Setsuna-san should be coming, I don't know why she's not here yet," a new, rough male voice answered.

An idea hit Din. If she went in there acting as her younger sister, perhaps she could gain information about Setsuna. Not only that, but she would be getting information for Ryuunosuke. With her plan in mind, Din reached back to her ponytail and let her hair fall but then tied it into a low ponytail. She moved down to her tied up kimono and let it fall down to her feet. This was the way Din remembered Setsuna, and she hoped that it was still the way she looked.

Din took in a large breath of air and courage, and walked into the small building. Immediately Din walked into a large living room where three men stood, one with dark skin and white hair, one short and cubby, and one that made Din stop in her tracks. The man that had caught her eye looked like Hijikata when she first laid eyes on him, but the more she looked at him, the more she realized that his body structure was too thin to be Hijikata.

"Setsuna?" the man who looked like Hijikata said as he cocked an eyebrow.

Din moved hair behind her right ear. "I'm sorry I'm so late…I ran into some trouble on the way over here."

"Ryuunosuke?" the cubby man said with a laugh. "He's been causing a lot of trouble around here hasn't he? Too bad he doesn't know that we're gonna ambush him and his little group."

"Oh." Din blinked.

A sudden feeling of disgust came to the pit of her stomach. Her hands moved over her stomach as the feeling became stronger but didn't want to give anything was wrong so she laughed.

"Setsuna-san," the small boy began, "are you alright? You've been acting strange for the past few days."

"Fine," Din answered.

The man who looked like Hijikata stepped over towards Din. "I want to see you upstairs. Alone."

Din nodded, and the two walked up a small flight of stairs. Din looked down right before she entered an empty room and saw the white haired boy looking back up at her with an innocent smile on his face. She returned the smile, and then walked into the room with the strange man. Once they were both inside the room, the strange man shut the door behind himself.

"Setsuna?" he asked. "You say that you ran into some trouble on the way over here?"

"Yes." Din nodded once more. "Why?"

The man turned around and grabbed Din by her neck. Din's hands came up to her neck and began tearing away at the strange man's hands in an attempt to remove them.

"Setsuna's eyes are the opposite color," the man hissed. "Who the hell are you?"

Breathing had become hard. Din moved her head upwards, trying to get more air but she just couldn't find any way to get air down into her lungs. The pressure the man was placed on her neck send waves of pain down Din's neck and through out the rest of her body. Adrenaline began to pump, and the man could feel Din's heartbeat increase.

"Fine," the man spoke.

The man drew his sword as Din pulled backwards in defense. The man's sword grazed over Din's face, from underneath her right eye, across her nose, and stopped underneath her left eye. She screamed and fell to the ground where she kicked out her legs until she reached the other side of the room.

"Who the hell are you?" the man asked. He walked over to Din with his sword drawn and dangling near his side. "You must be a spy."

"Hurry up and get inside!" a male voice yelled from outside.

The man walked over to the window in the room and looked down towards the street. The men who had been with Din were crowding around the house with Ryuunosuke leading them.

"Suzu," the man whispered.

Without another word the man left the room with a sprint. Din relaxed against the floor and began catching her breath when she began to lose control of her panting. Her breathing overcame her, and she fainted as blood leaked down from the wound on her face.

* * *

"_Seven spring herbs, shepherds purse. Ere do the western birds,_" a male voice sung in English. "_To the lands of the east. Come across the sea to roost._"

Din's eyes fluttered open, but closed when the light shot into her eyes. She buried her face into a soft, warm wall. A light smell came from the wall she leaned her head against, and when she felt the wall move, she opened her eyes once more to find that it was someone's back. She moved around and felt that her legs were wrapped around the person's waist, and the person was holding her feet while her arms wrapped around the person's neck.

"Where…am I?" she asked.

"So you're awake Din-chan!" a male voice answered.

Din moved her head up and saw the side of Ryuunosuke face as he tried to look back at her.

"Ichimura-kun!" Din said in surprise. "What are you doing back here?"

He moved his arms backwards and boosted Din further up his back. "I heard you were in trouble. I came back to make sure that you were alright."

All of the memories of what had happened came back to Din at once. Her hands moved up to her face where she had been cut by the strange man's sword to feel bandages covering it. The bandages wrapped around her face and to the back of her head.

"My face," she whispered.

"The cut across your face is bad," Ryuunosuke said. "It took a while for our doctor to close your nose so you could breathe."

Din blinked. The wound on her face didn't hurt at all. She moved her fingers up from Ryuunosuke's back and brought them to her face. She touched the bandages on her face, and winced. _Now_ it was starting to hurt.

"You ran off without waiting," Ryuunosuke said.

"Oh." Din lowered her head against his back. "I'm sorry…Ichimura-kun."

The sun began to set in the back and caught Din's eye once more. That was when she noticed that she and Ryuunosuke were walking along the riverbank just a few miles away from the house.

"Why are we out here?" Din asked.

"I thought that the wind would wake you up," Ryuunosuke answered. "Besides, I wanted a small walk."

"Oh."

"Din-chan…what you did was something that I cannot tolerate with my workers."

"I'm sorry," Din said as she gripped the back of his green kimono. "I should have waited for you."

Ryuunosuke sighed. "Din-chan…if you ever do something like that again I'm going to have to let you go."

Din's eyes widened as the grip increased on his kimono. "I'm so sorry Ryuunosuke-sama."

He laughed, surprising Din. "You don't have to change the way you talk to me! Let this just be a reminder of who you're under."

"Yes Ryuunosuke-sama." Din nodded against his back.

* * *

Three weeks later, Din's wound had healed into a bright scar that had yet to mix in with the coloring of her skin. She and Ryuunosuke had been getting along well, but today he asked her to come out with him to the riverbank. Din was nervous, she had been on her best behavior but she had heard rumors within the group of men that a new member would be joining them soon. Was the man going to take her place? Before Din could give anymore thought to it, it was time for Din to meet Ryuunosuke down at the riverbank.

_It'll be alright._ Din told herself. _I'm not leaving, I'll be fine._

She walked down the streets until she arrived at the riverbank. There she saw Ryuunosuke sitting near a small bridge. Din walked down the grassy hill until she stood beside Ryuunosuke.

"Ryuunosuke-sama," Din said in a gentle tone.

"Sit down Din-chan!" He patted the spot beside him. "I've been waiting for you!"

Din did as told. She folded her legs up to her chest and crossed her arms over her ankles to make sure that they would stay. Ryuunosuke became quiet while the wind blew over the two, and the sound of the waves crashing on the pier beside them became their conversation. Minutes flew by without a word until Ryuunosuke leaned back on his hands.

"How are you Din-chan?" he asked.

"Fine," she answered. "I'm nervous."

He blinked. "Why?"

"I…uh." Din looked away from Ryuunosuke and back out to the river. "About whether you're going to get rid of me or not for what I did earlier."

Ryuunosuke began to laugh out loud. Din looked over at him with her right eyebrow raised and a blush across her face. He looked back over to her while his laugh died and smiled.

"I'm not going to get rid of you!" he said. "What ever gave you _that_ idea?"

Her blush deepened, this time from embarrassment. "Oh…then who is the new guy who's coming?"

Ryuunosuke returned his attention to the river. "A bodyguard for you."

"Bodyguard!?" Din twitched.

He nodded. "I've also found someone who's willing to train you as _my_ bodyguard while I'm here in this town."

"You want me as a bodyguard?" Din raised her right eyebrow. "Why?"

Ryuunosuke moved his right hand over to Din's shoulder and patted her shoulder. "Din-chan, I want to have you with my men, and when you're with men like the people I know, you have to know how to fight. I'm telling the others that you're my bodyguard, but I just want you to train, do missions for me, and cook. I _will_ help you look for your sister, but you've got to help me."

Din nodded. "I promise I will. But…"

He looked back towards her. "But?"

Din sighed. "I fear that I won't be able to live up to your expectations."

Silence came back to the two, and the river created another conversation. Ryuunosuke stood, and stretched both of his arms up to the sky. Din watched, but looked back to the river after Ryuunosuke dropped his arms down to his sides.

"Just do your best Din-chan," he said. "That's all I can ask for. You know one day, I want to cross the ocean."

"Ocean?" Din blinked.

"Yes." He looked down towards her with a grin across his face. "And I want you to come with me. I need a cook…and a bodyguard. That is after we find your sister."

Din's eyes watered. "Ryuunosuke-sama."

Din let go of the tears she had been holding back, and brought both of her hands to her face. She cried and whimpered out as everything crashed into her at once but her whimpering stopped when Ryuunosuke wrapped his arms around her. She looked up for a few moments, and then rested her head against his face.

"Ryuunosuke-sama," she whimpered.

"Everything will be fine Din-chan," he whispered. "Just trust me."

Din wrapped her arms around Ryuunosuke. "I do Ryuunosuke-sama. I do!"

* * *

Days had passed since Din and Ryuunosuke had spoken to one another, and since that time Din had been assigned a mission. The task was to gain a collection of letters that would help Ryuunosuke on his missions, and help Din find her sister. The part Din didn't like was the face that the mission had to take place in the middle of the night.

The strange men that Din had run into back at the house when she had taken off were gone. Ryuunosuke had checked out the lead but didn't find anything about Setsuna, or even about the men who had been there. It didn't matter to Din, she knew that Ryuunosuke would help and she _knew_ that she was a few steps closer to finding her sister.

Now, however, Din was running along the roofs of the small town. She had taken the papers from the men and had the papers tucked away in the top of her ninja outfit. Unfortunately the men had seen her take the papers, and she was now running away from them the best she could.

The roofs underneath Din clinked when she stepped on them and gave away her position. Men ran beside her on the dirt street, waiting for her to fall from the roof so they could attack her. As Din reached a gap between roofs, her foot snagged in a loose tile. She fell forward, and dangled from the roof.

"Shit," she hissed.

"Stuck?" a male voice asked. "_Let me lend you a hand_!"

Din looked out in front of her to see a strange man standing there. His skin had a dark tone to it that Din had never seen before, along with hair in a ponytail she had never seen before. He was wearing a plain blue kimono.

"Who…are you?" she asked.

He pulled out a sliver hand gun and playfully bounced it off of his head. "Your bodyguard."

"_A bodyguard for you."_

"From… Ryuunosuke-sama?"

"Yes ma'am!"

The man grabbed Din by her waist and wiggled her down from the roof. Once she was down, he threw her over his right shoulder and ran back into the middle of the street with the men who had caught up.

"What are you doing?!" Din yelled.

"Savin' you!" he answered.

Without another word the strange man turned around and fired his sliver gun at the men who had been following Din. Two of the men fell and the left over two ran over to the fallen ones.

"We're outta here!" the man said.

The man with Din took off and ran down to the riverbank where Din had been with Ryuunosuke weeks ago. He slid down the grassy plain, and ducked behind a small bridge. He placed Din down on the ground and pressed against the wall with her as people ran by in search for them. Once the men passed over them, and the world fell silent, Din turned to the strange man.

"So you're my bodyguard?" she whispered. "What's your name?"

The man grinned. "Sakamoto Ryoma!" he introduced.

Din crossed her arms. "I'm Hinto Din."

* * *

R&R please! 


	39. Story

I don't own PMK or any of its characters. I only own Din, and Setsuna.

Sorry I'm so late on updating. Things have been rather weird around here; the computer monitor died on me for five days before I had enough money to buy a new one. Moving away from that…

Thank you for the reviews! They keep me going! This is another flashback chapter, mostly showing the relationship with Ryoma, Ryuunosuke, and Din. I hope you…

Enjoy!

* * *

It had been a year since Ryoma and Din had met, and things couldn't have been better. They were all living underneath a training house Ryuunosuke had purchased for his men. It was a nice wooden home with three stories of small rooms each man had to themselves. At the bottom level there was a large training area, and a small kitchen Din used for cooking every night.

Since Ryoma and Din's meeting, the two had grown close. They often went on missions with one another under Ryuunosuke's orders and often spent their days off down by the river, just hanging around. Things were going well for once.

"Din-chan! Ryoma-kun!" Ryuunosuke called out as he walked into the training house. "I've got another mission for you!"

Ryoma stepped out from the training room while he wiped his forehead with his right sleeve. Din came from the kitchen and bowed before she stood in front of Ryuunosuke. Ryoma laughed a bit and patted Din on the back.

"Come on Din-san! Relax a bit!" Ryoma said with another laugh.

Din closed her eyes. "Ryoma-san, please, I just want to hear what Ryuunosuke-sama has a say."

"Fine." Ryoma sighed.

"This is why I'm sending the both of you on this mission!" Ryuunosuke said. "You two need to get a bit closer before I send you on an intense mission."

"We can go now," Din insisted. "You can send us on any mission Ryuunosuke-sama, don't worry about that."

Ryuunosuke sighed and shook his head back and forth. "Never mind that now Din-chan. Anyway, I want the two of you to head out and recover a paper for me from the red light district."

"Sure!" Ryoma grinned.

"Great." Ryuunosuke returned the grin.

* * *

Ryuunosuke had given Ryoma and Din the address of the house where the papers were said to be, and the name of the person who held the papers. Once the sun had begun to set, the two head out to the red light district with plain blue kimonos on. When they arrived, they saw a large festival of some kind. Din twitched at first, but realized that the two of them would be able to blend in easily now. They walked into the large crowd of people and began moving towards their desired house.

"Hey you wanna check this out when we're done?" Ryoma asked.

"What?" She looked up towards him. "But we have to get back to Ryuunosuke-sama as soon as possible. What if he needs this paperwork now?"

Ryoma waved his right hand. "I doubt he does! Come on Din-san! Relax and hang out for a while!"

"Relax?" She cocked her right eyebrow. "I'm sorry Ryoma-san but I have a lot more on my mind then _you_ think I do. I can't just relax and hang around."

He sighed. "That's what I'm talkin' about. Din-san, come and have a little fun with me for once please? I wanna get to know you better."

"You already know me enough."

"Please?"

Din looked back up towards Ryoma and saw the face he was making; large, watery eyes and puckering bottom lip. Din couldn't help but give a small giggle. The look on Ryoma's face disappeared when she began to giggle, and was replaced by his usual smile.

"Fine," she said. "We'll stay for a while but we have to hurry back."

"Alright by me!"

The paper the two needed to get was a small, simple paper with only a few words written across it. Ryoma stuffed it down into his kimono, and the two walked out of the small house without a problem. When they walked into a large group of people, Ryoma grabbed Din's right wrist and pulled her over to a candy booth.

"Get something with me," Ryoma said. "I've got plenty of money."

Din reached down to the candy and picked up a handful of bright red candy. She looked at it longingly as a memory of the man she missed returned to her. Ryoma noticed her pause and leaned on her.

"You want it?"

She shook her head. "Candy is for brats."

"Well," Ryoma bumped against her, "I'm gettin' it!"

Ryoma took the candy from Din's hands and popped a few into his mouth while he paid for it. But as Din watched, she found a small blush crossing her face for no reason at all. She watched the way he acted, heard how he talked, and found everything about him odd but she _liked_ it.

"Come on!" he said with another tug. "Let's go play a game!"

He dragged her over to another small booth. They began to play the simple game there that involved catching a goldfish. It took three tires, but Din managed to catch the goldfish, and was given the small fish as her reward. After Ryoma failed twice, they left the booth and began walking around together.

"What are you gonna do with the fish?" Ryoma asked as he munched on his candy.

She looked at the small fish with a smile. "I want to give it to Ryuunosuke-sama."

"Oh!" Ryoma hit Din with his elbow. "Do you _like_ Ryuunosuke-san?"

"No!" Din protested while a blush crossed her face. "He's a married man! I couldn't go after a married man!"

"Just 'cause he's married doesn't mean you can't _like_ him."

"No!" She shook her head once more. "I don't like him…he just reminds me of someone I met a long time ago."

"Old flame?"

"I guess…" She looked down towards her bare ring finger. The ring Hijikata had given her was on a chain around her neck instead of around her finger.

"You wanna get back?"

Din sighed and moved her attention back to Ryoma. He gave his normal grin, and she managed to give one back to him. As the gentle wind blew between the two, they both realized how comfortable they felt with one another. The wind kept blowing and made conversation for them as they walked down the riverside, back to the house.

"So," he began, "what were you doin' before you got here?"

She thought her answer over. "I worked as a maid and cook at another training hall."

"Which one?"

"One that's changed a great deal." She closed her eyes for a long moment.

Ryoma sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "I'm a master of the Hokushin Itto style. I used to teach it before Ryuunosuke-san pulled me out to be _your_ bodyguard."

Din's mouth dropped open. "Really?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Why?" He blinked.

"I used to know someone who was training in that style! He would have killed to meet you!"

Ryoma grinned. "Maybe you can introduce us sometime."

She paused. "…Maybe."

The sun behind them set into the river while the moon rose on the opposite side. Ryoma and Din walked along the riverbank, enjoying the nice breeze of summer air. They spoke about simple things and about the people in the house, but Ryoma soon grew bored with gossip and thought of something better.

"Come with me," he said as he grabbed her wrist.

"Wher—"

He dragged her down to the bank of the river and sat down. He slipped his sandals off, pulled up his kimono, and dunked his feet into the cold water. A small shiver went up his spine, but he enjoyed it. Din stood beside him for a moment, and then did the exact same thing he had done. The goldfish sat beside her in the clay mold she had been given to hold it.

"Summer's always been my favorite time of year," Ryoma said in almost a whisper.

"Me too." Din nodded.

Silence came back to the two. Ryoma moved his legs around in the water while his mind searched for something to say. Din didn't seem to mind the silence; she was too busy looking up towards the dark blue sky. Ryoma noticed that Din was daydreaming and wanted her attention.

Ryoma pushed himself off of the bank and jumped down into the river. The rushing water nearly pushed him over but he caught his balance and walked out in front of Din with a silly grin on his face.

"Come in!" he said.

"NO!" She shook her head. "It's freezing in there!"

"If you don't come in I'm going further in!"

"What?" She twitched.

"Come in or I'm going farther away."

"Don't!"

He turned around and began walking further and deeper into the water. Din stood in the river and began walking towards him when he stopped and turned around to face her. She shivered from the water while he placed his hands on his hips and bent over.

"I want you to stay," she said.

"Then come over here!"

"I can't because—"

"Fine!"

Ryoma moved further out but stepped off of a bank of land and right into a deep section of water. The weight of his body forced a small wave towards Din that moved over the bank they had been sitting on, and knocked over the goldfish's mold. His head disappeared under the water but appeared within a few seconds. He took a large breath of air and shook his head back and forth.

"Why didn't you tell me this was out here?" he yelled.

"I was trying!"

Din walked out to Ryoma and grabbed his right hand with both of her hands. She pulled him back onto higher ground and turned around to see that the goldfish was gone.

"Ryuunosuke-sama's fish is gone!" she said. "What the hell happened to it!?"

Ryoma scratched the back of his head. "I guess I knocked it over when I went under."

Din frowned. "Dammit…I was going to give that Ryuunosuke-sama…"

"I'll get you another one!" Ryoma announced.

"What?"

Din turned back around to ask Ryoma what he meant when Ryoma jumped back into the deep water. Din stood there, not knowing what, or how to react to Ryoma's actions. Just as she was going to jump into the deep end, Ryoma popped up with a large fish in his hands.

"It's not a goldfish but its good enough!" Ryoma said with a large laugh.

Din narrowed her eyes. "You're so strange."

Ryoma walked over to Din with the fish in his hands. "Ya gonna take it?"

Din looked up at the strange man as he waited for an answer with a grin on his face. She couldn't believe what a weird, unique man he was but the more she thought about it, the more she liked it. She smiled and began moving towards him when she noticed a strong order coming from him.

"Ryoma-san…I think you fell in something," Din said as she scrunched up her nose.

"I did?" He blinked and sniffed himself. He _had_ fallen in something.

"Come on." Din turned back to the bank. "Let's get you back for a bath before someone else smells you."

"What about the fish?" Ryoma held it up to prove his point.

"Bring it."

Ryoma walked through the running river and placed the fish inside of the mold the goldfish had been in. He dunked it into the river and then handed the mold to Din who took it gently from him.

"Thank you."

He nodded. "Anytime."

* * *

When Ryoma and Din came back to the house, Ryoma walked into the only bathroom in the house. He kicked everyone out, and began the bath. In the meantime, Din walked over Ryuunosuke and gave him the fish with a blush on her face.

"What's this?" Ryuunosuke asked.

"I won this for you," Din answered. "Please take it."

Ryuunosuke took the fish and looked into the mold. He gave a small laugh, and patted Din on the top of the head. She bit her lower lip out of nervousness and closed her eyes as his petting stopped.

"Tonight I want you to come out with me," he said.

Her eyes brightened. "Really?"

He nodded. "I'll come get you. But for now, why don't you warm up Ryoma-kun's water for him? No one else around here I know will do it."

Din bowed. "Yes sir."

She walked away from Ryuunosuke and out into the backyard. She found a collection of chopped wood, walked over to it, and began taking pieces of it over to a small window at the back of the house. As she placed the wood down near the window, she thought over what Ryuunosuke had said.

"_No one else around here I know will do it."_

What he meant was that most of the other men around the training house weren't fond of Ryoma. Din had no idea why but the other men seemed to exclude Ryoma, for whatever reason. Perhaps it was because he was a master of a certain style while the rest of them were simple rouin, perhaps not. Whatever the reason, Din didn't pay it much mind; it wasn't her business.

Din peeked through the wind. "Ryoma-san, are you in there?" she asked.

Ryoma quickly wrapped his kimono back around his body. "If you wanted a peak all you had to do was ask Din-san! You don't have to sneak around!"

She blushed once more. "I'm not here to _look at you_!"

"Ya sure?" Ryoma dropped his kimono down around his shoulders.

"I'm just here to light up your bath!" Din ducked down behind the wall. "So hurry up and get in."

He sighed. "_Fine_."

Ryoma stepped into the large bath and shivered from the cold water. He slipped in, and leaned against the back with his arms stretched out. Din placed pieces of wood into a small opening underneath the bath, and lit them.

"It'll take a few minutes," Din said.

"Alright then." Ryoma closed his eyes and began to relax.

The small fire quickly turned into a full fledged fire. Din fanned the fire a bit, and blew on it as steam began to escape from the window above her head. She could hear Ryoma sigh in relief.

"So have you ever seen a man naked before?" Ryoma asked from the bath.

Din twitched. "I don't think that's any of your business."

"Open up a bit Din-san!" he said with a laugh.

"_No one else around here I know will do it."_

Din closed her eyes for a long minute. "Yes, I've seen a man naked before."

"Ya a virgin?"

"No. You?"

"No," Ryoma sighed once more, "lost it to a woman when I was fifteen years old. How old were you?"

"Eighteen."

Ryoma leaned his head onto his right shoulder and closed his eyes. "Someone you loved?"

"Yes!" She stood. "Stop asking all of the damn questions! You're getting too personal!"

Her eyes peered into the window but instead of seeing Ryoma giving her a goofy grin, he had a serious look to his face. His eyes were narrowed in Din's direction, and his lips had formed a small frown.

"Ryoma-san?" she asked.

Ryoma swam over to the window, pushing a wave of water over the rail and through the window. The water dripped down the wall and hit the fire where the water transformed into steam. Din stepped back and let out a squeak of surprise but kept her attention on Ryoma. He wrapped one hand around a rail in the window and placed his face between two more rails.

"What?" Din asked while she blinked.

"Did you love the man you gave your virginity to?"

Din's eyes moved side to side. "Yes."

"Is that who you're waiting for?"

Din took a small step backwards in shock. It was strange, she had no idea how Ryoma had guessed her missing so easily. Was she acting _that_ obvious in the everyday things she did? Din shook her head; she wasn't going to take this from a man like Ryoma.

"None of your business!" She turned away and crossed her arms. "Now hurry up and wash before the water gets cold."

Ryoma's face relaxed. "You're not staying?"

"I have a meeting with Ryuunosuke-sama." Din backed away from the window. "I'll come back so take your time."

"Really?"

She nodded. "Don't worry about it."

His grin returned. "Hurry back."

* * *

Din ran down to the river, the same one she had been at with Ryoma minutes before. She arrived to see Ryuunosuke on the opposite side of the bridge, standing in the rushing river with his kimono pulled up to his knees.

"Ryuunosuke-sama?" Din asked.

"Come here Din-chan! There's something I want to show you."

Din did as told and walked into the water with a shiver. As she walked, she noted to herself how shallow the water was on this side of the bridge. If only Ryoma had fallen into the water here.

"You know the fish you won me?" Ryuunosuke turned to Din. "Help me let it go."

"What!?" Din was taken back by that.

"Don't you think a fish with such beauty belongs back in the wild where it was born?" Ryuunosuke asked. "I want things to remain the same that they've always been but I know when there's a time for change. I know that change will soon come to this country, but I don't want evil to come along with it."

Din walked in closer to Ryuunosuke. "Ryuunosuke-sama…"

"I want to be the Peacemaker," Ryuunosuke said as he turned back to face the moon. "So will you help me release the fish?"

"Yes." Din nodded and stood beside Ryuunosuke.

Ryuunosuke took the small mold the fish had been placed in and tossed it out into the river. Din watched the fish escape from the mold and swim into the heavier current while the mold fell to the bottom of the dark river.

Another cold breeze blew between Din and Ryuunosuke but this one was different from the one Din had felt when she was with Ryoma. She didn't know how it was different, she just knew it was. Ryuunosuke didn't say anything after the fish swam away; he just stood in the same spot with the same look on his face.

_Ryuunosuke-sama._ Din thought as she looked at their reflections in the water. _How can I feel this way about you? You're married and I'm…waiting. _

"_Just 'cause he's married doesn't mean you can't like him."_

"He just reminds me of someone," Din whispered.

"Hum?" Ryuunosuke looked over to Din. "Did you say something Din-chan?"

"No!" She waved her hands back and forth. "I'm fine!"

He smiled. "Good."

The two returned looking out towards the rushing river in silence. They listened to the running river, and chirping crickets around them. They heard the sounds of pots banging around, people talking, and saw lights going out all around town.

_I want you to meet Toshi, Ryuunosuke-sama._ Din thought to herself. _Just to see what the two of you would be like. I can't wait for that day._

The river ran faster, and harder as it came to the end. The deepest water was always the darkest, and almost never got to see the light of the moon even though Din could see herself and Ryuunosuke on the top of the river. It was all so beautiful and yet haunting.

* * *

R&R please! 


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